Heritage
by SorrowfulReincarnation
Summary: Following her sister's trail to Mistral, Yang still struggles to fit into the life that she had lost. But it seems that things never changed as much as she thought to begin with, and before she knows, she finds herself in the middle of trouble again after picking a fight with some locals - and gains more than she ever thought possible along the way. Set after Volume 4.
1. Gone Home

_What's up, restless spirits that you have found your way here, it's SorrowfulReincarnation._

 _So, what is it exactly that you're currently looking at, you may wonder. Well, it's my newest project – obviously – but I feel like I need to explain a few things, anyway._

 _First off, to be perfectly honest with you, this is a mere side-project that I've decided to start now that Volume 5 is on the way, but my main focus will remain my RWBY Dreams Crushed AU. Every now and then though, I feel like I need to write something different (with that, I don't mean that I will update this story only occasionally, don't get me wrong, this is going to be a regular thing now), and this is where this project comes in. Have been setting this up a bit in the background ever since the end of Volume 4, and I liked where it was headed enough that I've decided to actually write it and share it with you._

 _Chronologically, it is set after Volume 4, and quite obviously will differ from wherever Volume 5 is headed. It'll follow Yang for the most part, but other familiar characters will show up soon. It will be somewhat more light-hearted in nature than Dreams Crushed, for those who know it, thus allowing different scenarios that I can explore. Also, quite obviously, the relationships will be different than in Dreams Crushed, as this story here will be based on canon up to V4._

 _As you'll see, chapters for it are way shorter than for Dreams Crushed, meaning that I'll be able to update more often, something I haven't really been able to do. It's a nice change, I guess._

 _Speaking of changes, I probably won't always include an A/N with every chapter of this project, only if I feel that it's important. And probably not as detailed as with other projects. Nonetheless, I'm happy to answer questions should any arise, so don't be shy, I don't bite. Much._

 _I think that is all that I need to mention right now, more will follow as we progress. Don't really have a schedule set for this project yet, I estimate an update every two weeks, considering the size – don't want to say weekly updates, cause I think that it may be somewhat unrealistic with the other stuff I'm working on and real life and things, and I feel like someone would call me out on it every time I won't manage. So bi-weekly it is. Estimated right now. More info on my profile as we progress, as usual._

 _Anyway, if I think of anything else, I'll mention it with the next update. So, hope you enjoy this little introduction, and I'll see you soon! So long!_

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or its characters. They belong to Rooster Teeth. _  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Gone Home**

"We will be reaching port in the next few minutes! Passengers, please get ready to disembark!"

A heavy sigh escaped the blonde as the female voice echoed from the ship's speakers, all but tearing her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Momentarily disoriented, she closed her eyes behind her dark shades and growled to herself, relishing the soft and salty sea breeze for as long as she could – soon, it'd be over, and she'd be back onshore.

Eventually opening them again, she cast a glance to her left to where her bike stood, its bright yellow and orange colors resembling the flames they were designed after so much more in the late afternoon sun, the dark orange of the twilight leading to the illusion that the metallic design was flickering. Burning. Searing.

Searing, like the pain in her right arm where the golden and black prosthesis connected to the stump of where her limb had once been. Unconsciously, she tightened her metallic fist, the near lack of any sensation igniting her anger. To think that this was what her life had come down to. She was a cripple, abandoned by her own mother from birth on, lost the stepmother she had loved, was abandoned by her own partner for which she had sacrificed her arm, and separated from everyone else that meant anything to her. And heck, as if it wasn't already enough shit, her semblance not only feed on rage, it also made her angry. And was out of control ever since the fall of Beacon.

So where did that leave her? As what did it leave her? A lone wolf. A berserker. A crippled one, too.

At least, and that was the one thing she had learned from her father, it could only get better from there on. Once you had hit rock bottom, you had two choices – stay there and let it drag you to an early grave, or get on your feet again and fight your way back up. It wouldn't be easy, the cliff you had to climb was a steep one, and you would undeniably learn that it wasn't sturdy in the slightest – you would find the ground breaking beneath your feet again and again, sending you back closer to the bottom of the cliff that you started from and tried to escape, and that for the rest of your life – but it wasn't impossible. You just had to hold on and continue, never broken. Return from the dead.

She pushed herself off the wall she'd been resting against for the past hour or so, approaching the railing to lean onto it. As her arms came to rest on it, she turned her head and glanced the way the ship was headed, watching the shore draw closer. Found herself glad that she was wearing the new long coat and her black pants as the full force of the cold winds hit her, tearing at her long golden mane.

So here she was, on this ship, starting to climb the cliff back into the life that had been taken from her. Along with her arm, along with her partner, along with everything else. For months, she'd been at rock bottom. But there, in Mistral, she'd start. Find Ruby and what had remained of JNPR, return to the fight, then worry about what to do about Blake and Weiss.

Heck, if she could, if she had even the slightest idea of where she was, any remote clue, she would've gone after Blake first. Of course she was worried about Ruby, sickeningly so, but growing up with the girl, she had also come to trust her and learn what she was capable of. And Ruby wasn't alone, she had Ren and Nora to back her up, both of which were more than capable. Jaune? Yeah, as if.

First and foremost, though, it was Blake that needed her, and it was Blake that Yang needed. Needed answers from. Why she left. Who that fucking guy was that she had to 'thank' for the prosthetic arm she was now stuck with. For the phantom pain that kept her awake at night when the _itching_ of the missing limb started. The insecurities and doubts she was now stuck with, returning with every nightmare she woke from.

But, alas, she had no idea where her partner had ran off to, and with the CCT down and no means of contacting Blake herself or anyone that could potentially know where the black cat was – Sun and the rest of SSSN came to mind – or find out for her relatively quick – namely, Junior, but she doubted that he'd be fond of seeing her right now, business was probably bad enough as it was with Vale gone to hell, and as cute as they were, she didn't really want to tango with the twins again just then – that only left her with the other two choices. Ruby and the rest of JNPR, or Weiss.

Weiss was out of question, back in Atlas after her father had taken her there, and hell, even Yang wasn't as insane and stupid as to try and infiltrate Atlas, basically the incarnation of military force, and attempt to break the ice queen out. A basically impossible task. Would've loved to, but had a feeling that Weiss was fine on her own, anyway. Cause although she and the heiress didn't always see eye to eye, she had to admit that not only had Weiss always been just fine standing her own ground, she had also grown from the snobby girl controlled by her own family name into something way more. Someone independent.

They all had grown in the past months ever since coming to know each other better, Weiss perhaps most of them all. Ruby had managed to overcome most of her insecurities and social awkwardness, Weiss had become more independent and learned to trust her own judgment before that of others, Blake had started to open up and trust others again, and she – Yang herself – had calmed down a bit, relying on others more rather than storming in solo. Among other things, things she had to thank Blake for the most, her polar opposite.

Blake, who was now – as far as the brawler knew – out there someone, alone, once again isolating herself. With all her problems and own insecurities, all the things she had meant to keep bottled up on the inside, assured that they were hers to deal with and hers alone. And just when Yang thought she had managed to get through to her, getting her to open up and share these things.

So, Ruby and RNJR it was. At least she knew where they were. Mistral, headed for the capital on foot. Had possibly reached it by now, but having Bumblebee with her, it would only be a matter of three, maybe four days on the road until she'd catch up to them.

For the sake of what had remained of JNPR, Ruby was better alright and unscathed.

As the ship slowly entered the harbor, gliding along the shore, the blonde let her gaze trail through the streets of the small port town. Gilded in the orange glow of the twilight, only a handful of people were still out. A woman carrying bags of groceries, a group of kids playing tag near the water, an elderly couple walking down to the beach and staring out into the horizon, where the sheer endless vastness of sky and ocean met in a loving embrace, soon to be consumed by nightfall.

After everything she'd been through lately, after the fall of Beacon and the state that Vale was now in, this was an odd and yet so welcome sight. That there were still places where all was right with the world and life was calm and peaceful. Where you didn't have to worry about betrayal and abandonment, where Grimm were the biggest threat you had. To think that, only a month or two ago, she would've thought the same.

Sighing, she stepped back from the railing, approaching her bike – it was time to disembark and find a place to stay for the night, since it was too late to get a move on. There had to be somewhere she could retreat to for the night, get some food, and start her journey in the early morning.

Still, wasn't it some kind of irony that she was here now? In Mistral? The thought just wouldn't leave her alone as she grabbed the handlebar of Bumblebee and started to shove it towards the end of the ship. Wasn't she, technically, in some twisted way, 'coming home'?

After all, she was of Mistralian heritage, both the Xiao Long and the Branwen families hailed from this kingdom, although she had no idea of how long ago that actually was – while family meant a lot to her, it was more the present incarnation of it than the history that she believed in. Not tradition or past expectations. Hell, if she was being honest, family had nothing to do with genetics or relations by blood, not to her. Not when her own mother couldn't give less of a damn about her, and not when she considered Weiss and Blake practically family at this point.

Maybe Weiss would one day actually be part of it, if she had been reading the little signs between her half-sister and the heiress right. At least Ruby seemed to be open to the idea. It wasn't like she was exactly subtle about it or anything, and even Weiss must've noticed the scythe-wielding girl's infatuation with her.

Ignoring it as the female voice blasted out of the ship's speakers again, announcing their arrival, Yang continued her path over to the plank currently being lowered, serving as means of boarding and disembarking the ship.

Her fingers curled around the bike's handlebar tighter, thumbs gently massaging it – more for herself and her nerves, rather than the bike, of course – as she reached the plank as one of the first few, allowing an elderly couple and a pregnant woman to disembark first before she and her heavy bike followed. Fortunately, there was one thing that couldn't be taken from her, that even the prosthetic arm didn't change, and it was her strength – despite the steep angle, she didn't even break a sweat as the full weight of her vehicle kicked in. Didn't even need to adjust to it.

To think that _this_ would be the thing to always stay the same, the one absolute term in the vast sea of ever changing factors.

But this kind of thought, it wouldn't drag her down again. She couldn't let it, couldn't disappoint her father now, not after he had helped her back on her feet and to regain confidence in herself. He had let her go, despite being worried she wasn't ready, and only because she had talked him into it. Into trusting her.

No, she wouldn't disappoint him. He and Ruby, they were all she had left when it came to actual family in this world. Cause although her mother was out there, somewhere, she didn't have any illusions about her. Especially not after Qrow's words.

This woman that, _supposedly_ , was her biological mother, she wouldn't welcome her with open arms should they ever cross paths. Wasn't looking and certainly wasn't waiting for her. It wouldn't be a happy family reunion, there would be no hugs and kind words.

It would be passing blame back and forth, it would be loud and it would be nasty.

Nothing like the woman that the young brawler saw in her recurring dreams ever since that day on that train where she had lost against Roman's sadistic madwoman of a partner. 'Yang, we have a lot to talk about' – yeah, right. A mother that couldn't love her, what could she possibly have to say for herself other than empty, and most likely hurtful, words?

It just showed that dreams had nothing to do with reality. Were like glass, like the semblance of Torchwick's lunatic partner – one touch, ever so fleeting, and they shattered. One blink of an eye, and your dreams were crushed.

The brawler closed her eyes again, not even sighing this time. Having stepped off the plank and off to the side to allow the other passengers to disembark, she leaned against her bike and reached up to massage the bridge of her nose and her eyes. Why had life to be so complicated? When had it become so complicated?

"You alright, Miss?"

Suppressing a gasp, she opened her eyes and flinched, almost taking a step back in surprise. This kind of reaction elicited a chuckle from the elderly man – almost a head smaller than her – that had approached her, his bushy white eyebrows lowering and nearly obscuring his eyes as he closed the latter and leaned onto his walking cane. Looked more like a single thick curled root taken from some tree in Yang's eyes, but she knew better than to address this.

"I'm sorry, lass, didn't mean to scare you. Forgive the concern of this old man, but you looked slightly out of it, hence my worry." snickered the elder Mistralian, smiling good-naturedly at her as he tilted his head a little, "Is everything alright? A frown like yours does not belong on the face of someone as young as you." His steel-gray eyes trailed down her right arm, "Even if she's been through a lot."

The brawler unconsciously wriggled her prosthetic digits, feeling the _itch_ of the fingers no longer there. No movement or touch of the fake mechanic limb could ever get rid of it. She knew it was all in her head. Knowing it didn't change it, however, no awareness ever could.

"Oh, it's alright. I was... merely in thoughts." She forced a smile, weak and fading, a mere ghost of the radiant glow it had once been, able to change the mood of an entire room. "Glad to see that someone cares, though. It's been a while since I saw someone genuinely care for a complete stranger."

"Hard times in Vale at the moment. I've heard. Everyone has." mused the elderly man. She watched as he began to nod to himself, the prominent bushy eyebrows once again lowering, although this time, he added to this image of an elderly man as he lifted a hand and began to stroke the long white beard close to his chin. "Still, dwelling in thoughts is no thing for lass of your age, who still has her entire life ahead of her. Leave regret and trips down the memory lane to the elderly, who have their prime behind them. For some of us, it is everything we've left, the most we can move."

Surprised by his words, she blinked and frowned. Only then noticed that the man in front of her shared one ailment with her, his left leg replaced by an old silver pole from the knee down, the reason he was carrying a cane to begin with. Unable to hold it back, the brawler let out a gasp, once again sending the man into deep chuckles.

"I seem to have a talent of catching you off guard." he guffawed, and Yang felt her face heat up in a notable blush, "Don't worry, I've grown used to it, happened a few years ago – young woman, younger than you are right now, saved me from a fate much worse. Not a huntress, like you are now, but could've easily been one. Seeing as it could've been my life, I don't mind the leg."

She didn't have the heart to correct him, she was no more than a huntress-in-training, and even that was questionable now that Beacon was gone and Vale in ruins. Instead, she kept silent as the old man set into motion, wincing silently as she watched him limp past her and towards the bench closest to them, along the basin of the harbor.

Wordlessly, she followed as he dropped down onto the bench, standing by his side as he looked out into the distance.

"Even if I could afford a new leg, I'm not sure I would even want it. Undoubtedly how you felt about your arm, right?" he inquired, but never expected an answer, already knowing it when Yang remained quiet, "I'm content with my life at the moment, even though it took a long time to adjust. First my leg, then my wife – I've lost things, and I feel that you can relate. And yet, I don't mind where I am now."

Meeting his gaze as he turned his head, she saw the sincerity in his eyes – he wasn't lying. Although he had experienced loss, much like she had, he hadn't lost his will to live, nor his happiness. Not all of it.

"Every evening, I come out here and watch the ocean as the sun sets, like I used to with my late wife. Makes her feel closer, although she's gone. It makes me content, it's so calm and quiet. Here, I can reminisce about all the time we had in peace." he hummed quietly, nodded to himself and smiled. "We all need a place like this."

Turning his head, he smiled her way, although he only got a concerned stare in return. He didn't mind, having expected it, and his smile grew as he turned back to the ocean.

"Life is a fleeting thing, lass. Temporary and fragile, gone in the blink of an eye, lasting no longer than we breathe." he continued, leaning forward to rest some of his weight against the cane still in his hands, "All the more of a reason to cherish every little moment that we have. Look not for what you're missing, cling not to the bad, but to what you have. Like I said before, you can always look back and regret and reminisce when you're old and wrinkled, and your body has become but another burden to hold you down."

Quietly, not sure how else to react to this, she slowly nodded. To say that this wasn't what she had expected immediately upon arriving was an understatement, but it was a welcome change to what her life had become. Still, hearing all of this, she had a question that didn't stop bothering her, and after an eternity of silence, of watching the sun slowly sink, she finally dared to ask.

"Forgive me for asking, but don't you have any family left? I mean...?"

"I'm not all alone, lass, don't worry. This here, this village, they're like my family. We take care of each other like one, always have. Ever since I was a child, and longer. It's like a tradition of sorts, y'see?" he smiled her way and ran a hand over his balding head, through the thinning white hair, "I do have a son, though. Foolish boy, but always cared a lot for his old folks. Wish he would've settled down with the girl he fell in love with in his teens, but fate had other plans. It's a shame my late wife never got to have grandchildren... He's like us, you know?"

Loss, that was the word he was avoiding. Death had claimed someone else. So he was right, life was but a fleeting thing, so easily wiped out, so easily gone. You'd never knew when it was over. It had been the same with Summer Rose, the woman who had been more like a mother to her than her own. It had taken her dad years to recover from that. She felt a bit of sympathy for this old man's son although she had never met him, she had to admit that.

"Don't mind me asking, lass, but do you have any idea where you're staying for the night yet?" he inquired eventually, glancing her way until she shook her head, "Would love to offer you a place to retreat to for the night, but my abode is small and only has the things most necessary for a lone man of my age. I could afford more, my son assures that, but I never felt like I needed more with my wife gone."

"No sweat, it's fine." The blonde offered him a smile, this time a genuine one, "To be honest, you've already done so much for me."

"What, just by talking a bit?" he laughed, "Just the musings of an old man, lass."

"Does that mean they're worth anything less? If anything, I'd say it's the opposite. Experience means a lot, even today, in this age."

He began to guffaw again at that, his whole body shaking with laughter as he leaned back into the bench. She couldn't blame him and actually began to smile wider as well. For an old man, he wasn't half as boring. In fact, she'd say that a lot people her own age were way worse than him.

"Got to say, I like you, lass. You're an interesting one." The old man waved his hand into her direction, but remained facing the ocean, "Anyway, you should try the local tavern, it's a bit further down the main road. You can't miss it. They should have a room for you, and the food is outstanding. And it's not too expensive, either."

Money wouldn't have been a problem, her father had given her quite a bit for the journey, but she didn't have to mention that. Actually, he had given her more than she had deemed necessary, mostly out of concern, saying that 'it was better if you had a bit more on you, you never knew when you needed it, like for medical expenses', which she trusted. He was an experienced hunter, after all, and had been on his fair share of journeys. And had received his fair share of wounds on them – Qrow wasn't the only one with scars. Hell, even Summer Rose must have had some.

"Heh. Alright..." With a small groan, the old man rose from his seat, momentarily struggling for balance but waving Yang off when she attempted to come for help, ultimately using his cane to set into motion, "...I feel like retiring a little earlier tonight, it's going to rain soon."

The brawler frowned towards the sky, unable to spot any cloud in the endless orange glow, but didn't question it either. For all she knew, the weather in Mistral could change faster than that in Vale due to the different climate, and why should she doubt the words of a man who had lived there all his life?

"Let me accompany you home." she offered, feeling bad when she saw him hobble away from the bench. He stopped for a second to glance her way, at first seeming to be surprised by her words, but ultimately offering her a wide smile.

"It's quite alright. I appreciate the offer, trust me, it's days like these that my leg gets worse. But you can relate." Yeah, she could, considering that her own stump of an arm was itching as well. Happened from time to time. "If you insist, though, I won't turn the offer down."

"I do. It's the least I can do after you cheered me up like this, and shared your story with me."

"Like you said earlier – No sweat." he repeated with a chuckle, and she couldn't help but join him as she approached and offered him a hand, "I live close by, just over there." He pointed down the street, to a small old-looking house with a few colorful flowers and a small bench on the porch. Didn't stand out too much, but it did look quite cozy from the outside, and the flowers did look like someone was taking care of them rather well.

"Should you ever be around again, lass, I wouldn't mind if you'd drop by for a visit. If you feel comfortable with it, maybe repay the favor and share your story with this old man. I'd love to hear it."

"It's not a happy one."

"They seldom are." he offered in return and, as if to add to his point and remind her of how he lost his limb, stopped to raise his leg a bit. The blonde brawler glanced at it for a moment, but then nodded in silent agreement, and they continued their short trek down the street. "Out of sheer curiosity, lass, do you like tea?"

"It's Yang, actually. Yang Xiao Long." she finally introduced herself, but then grimaced, "Uh... I'm not really fond of tea. My friend, Weiss, maybe, but me..."

"That's fine, was just curious. Anyway, feel free to drop by should you ever be in the area, Yang. I'm always happy to have visitors. Most of them are from the area though, it's rare that I meet someone not from here. Sad thing, really, I love a good story or two." he mused, "And my son is a very busy person and doesn't find the time to visit often, either."

"That's too bad." she agreed, almost felt like a hypocrite as she continued, "Family is an important thing, is it not? Most of us take them for granted, when actually, it is..." She couldn't finish the sentence, lump in her throat growing as she was reminded of her own dysfunctional family, especially her abandonment by her own physical mother, but much more so the recent separation of her team.

In a way, she had long come to terms with Raven abandoning her, only searching for answers nowadays, but the end of RWBY, which was still fresh on her mind? Pyrrha's death? Penny's death? She bit down on her tongue so hard she almost drew blood.

"Feel like there is a story there." commented the old man, glancing her way as she suddenly fell silent, "But that's for another time."

She nodded silently, not reciprocating his gaze, and kept walking. The old man's abode was coming closer, she could almost smell the flowers by the bench in the soft evening breeze by then, and she felt like she was going to get lost in her thoughts again any moment. Not that she wanted, but she already felt the thoughts returning, the insecurities. It always started like that, a stray thought, a doubt that soon turned to regret, then the 'what if' and 'if only' questions started.

"You know, lass..." the old man started and, which she was very thankful for, pulled her out of her thoughts before they really started – it was bad enough that, merely with them starting, she had missed a good bit of the remaining path to his house, "You remind me a bit of him. Of my son. Not that I consider you foolish, and he is a good chunk older than you, of course, but..."

"No offense taken... I consider myself a bit of a fool at times, too." she interrupted him, and felt his inquisitive stare on her, especially as they finally reached his house and she gently pulled her arm back to allow him to move on his own, "I'm not stupid, but I'm not the brightest out there, either, especially when my emotions get the better of me I just tend to shut my brain off completely and listen only to my instincts. I know that I'm stubborn and hotheaded, often rush in without thinking. I get agitated easily and have been baited with that more often than I can imagine, often walking right into traps. It's what cost me this arm." She rose her prosthetic arm and scowled down at it, curled her hand into a fist, "It's why I'm here now."

"You talk about it like it's a weakness."

She rose her gaze so fast she wondered how she didn't snap her own neck, frowning incredulously at the Mistralian man that, meanwhile, had pulled his keys out of his pocket and was in the middle of unlocking the front door to his house. Turning the old key in the lock, he pushed the door open just a bit, before turning to glance over his shoulder at her.

"I'm not saying that it's a strength, either, but a weakness is nothing more than something you don't know how to use. Wasted potential. So what if you are controlled by your anger? What if you are the one that rushes ahead? Learn to use it! Let your enemy _think_ they know how you work, how to manipulate you! Let them believe that they got into your head!" insisted her new acquaintance, and for the first time since she'd met him, was not wearing that kind smile on his lips, "Become the bastion at the front that defends those behind her! Become the battering ram that breaks through the enemies defense and leaves them in disarray, open for others to follow up! It's not about what you are, but what you can be, never forget that!"

Still in disbelief over his reaction, Yang remained quiet and simply stared, which the old man took as a sign that he had gotten through to her. Slowly turning back to his house, the smile returned to his lips, ever so faint.

"I stand by what I said, you remind me of my son. He used to be just like you when he was younger. Still retained some of it, actually, but he found his calling away from the battlefield, away from all that. Some of us are born fighters, but they change. Sometimes, through loss." slowly, he began hobbling inside, leaving the speechless Yang outside, "It's hard for someone born a fighter to find their place in this world, and it's even harder to settle down for them, to abandon the war. Not all manage. If you can, if you even want to – that's all up to you."

He turned, offering her a last reassuring smile, and began to close his door.

"It was nice meeting you, Yang. Come visit me some time, I'll have something other than tea ready for the occasion."

"I, uh..." she began, slowly finding words again, "I will."

His smile grew a bit and he nodded a last time before ultimately closing the door and locking it, no doubt to soon retire to bed. Which she should soon, too, considering she wanted to hit the road as early as possible.

Still shook and attempting to process what she had just witnessed, assessing the conversation she had with this strange old man, the blonde remained where she was, standing outside his house, for a few more minutes.

Ultimately none the wiser, she turned back to where her bike stood, and decided to follow the man's advice and try the local tavern.

Somehow, she knew she wouldn't get any sleep that night.

* * *

Immediately upon entering the old building, Yang found herself hit with a plethora of odors. Old wood, mixed with strong alcohol, the warmth of the nearby fireplace and something delicious that had her mouth watering in mere seconds, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since leaving her father's house that morning, save for that cheap gooey energy bar that had lacked any kind of taste, which she had purchased aboard the ship from a vending machine. Had probably been way past its expiration date, she hadn't dared to actually check after she had forced that dry thing down her throat.

Whatever was being cooked in there, it smelled delicious. Some kind of meat, if she had to guess, probably some Mistralian animal that she hadn't heard of in her entire life. Academies tended to skip that part about other kingdoms, sticking to geography, Dust resources, some culture and history, and the Grimm common in them. As far as she was concerned, Mistral was completely new territory.

Slowly removing her shades and pulling on her scarf a bit – it was warm inside, comfortably so, no need to cover up her entire neck – she began to make her way through the tavern's main room towards the bar, having spotted an unoccupied stool by it that stood a little further from the rest. She didn't exactly feel like having some company right then, so it was just perfect.

She was well aware that she had drawn some attention to her upon entering, a few people casting curious glances her way as she walked, but it didn't really bother her that much. Was used to turn a few heads whenever she entered a room – sometimes with how she entered, 'Junior' probably dreaded hearing her 'knock' on his doors already – even before she lost her arm and had it replaced with the, not exactly subtly colored, black and golden prosthesis that was now replacing Ember Celica on that arm. Which probably was one of the reasons she got some odd glances this time, the others being that she was a total stranger and – well, even though she didn't really like to boast – a bombshell.

Despite the hour and how full it was, it was surprisingly quiet in the tavern, the loudest being a group of men playing a card game in the far corner of the room. Other than them, most of the current patrons were either talking at a fairly pleasant volume, the only ones not actually being completely quiet as they ate their food.

Five steps in and she already liked the place, that was a rare thing.

The woman working at the bar – just a tad older than her, maybe in the middle of her twenties, brunette hair she wore in a long ponytail thanks to a green hair tie, a long strand on either side of her face – looked up when she dropped herself onto the stool she had been heading for, the keys to Bumblebee clinking melodically on her belt. A smile was on the young woman's face, although she seemed a bit surprised by her most recent customer, something that didn't escape Yang – she played it off well, but for the slightest second, her eye twitched in a weird way. Betrayed most people, Yang had learned that when asking Blake one day as to how the Faunus always managed to know how to react to people.

"Good evening, sugar. What can I do for you?"

"Evening. I need a room for the night, and a friend recommended your place." replied the brawler after a few seconds in which she looked around, offering the woman behind the bar a smile as to show that she wouldn't cause any trouble. Didn't plan to, at least, she only wanted to retreat for the night and continue her journey in the morning. "And I could do with some dinner, I guess. It's been a long boat trip."

"Of course." offered the proprietress with a bit of a curtsy – weird gesture in Yang's eyes, but who was she to complain? Not that it did anything for her, but her uncle would've probably reacted a lot different than her – and turned around to reach for a small cupboard with a window at the front, through which the brawler could easily spot the two rows of almost identical keys. That some of the hooks that the keys were on were empty hinted at some rooms already being booked, but that was more of an observation than actually interesting information she might need again. In a way, she was just glad that she wasn't the only one looking for a place to stay the night.

"So you're a huntress passing through then?" inquired the woman as she returned with one of the keys, putting it down on the bar between them and sliding it towards the blonde, "Room 4, just up the stairs. If you want a more quiet one, just say so, there are a few further in the back of the building that I..."

"It's fine, I'm used to noise, been sharing a room for the past year or so. Don't plan to stay too long, anyway, got to leave early in the morning." muttered Yang quietly as she reached for the key and pulled it closer, exchanging it for a small stack of Lien, "Also, huntress? Yeah." Her voice lacked confidence as she glanced up to the small balcony above them, on which the door to her room was located, "Yeah, something like that."

"Been a lot of you passing through lately, headed for the capital." chatted the innkeeper as she counted the Lien, hummed in content when she found that it was enough for the room and dinner, along with a drink as the movement of the brawler's hand told her, stepped back and approached a cabinet from which she pulled a plate, some cutlery and a glass for the blonde, "Hasn't been too long since the last one was here. Maybe two weeks or so. Asked for a room to stay as well. Interesting man, probably twice your age, but still very charming. If he'd been a bit younger, I..."

"Bit immature for his age? Indulging in alcohol just a bit too much? Immediately smitten by you?" interrupted the brawler – and seeing the woman nod in confusion, let out a long sigh and sunk down onto the bar, "Dammit, Qrow..."

"You know him? Friend of yours?" inquired the woman, still in surprise, but a small smile found its way back onto her lips, "Well, I figured that you hunters all knew another, but I didn't think it was that extreme. Small world, huh?"

"Let's put it that way, yes." she growled around the arm she was resting her head on. As much as she liked her uncle, he was a hopeless case. But at least she had a bit of a lead now, Qrow had been passing through the harbor town, no doubt quietly following Ruby to watch over her. Not that she had expected to hear of anyone so soon, but it wasn't a completely unwelcome occurrence.

For a moment, Yang just remained like that, forehead resting on her arms, face mere inches away from the wooden bar that, guessing by the smell, had been stained with some spilled alcohol only recently. She wasn't entirely sure if it was that or just the circumstances, but she felt the hint of a headache approaching, something she really didn't need at that moment.

She only rose her head again when her food was placed in front of her. True to her earlier suspicions, it was some kind of beef with some Mistralian vegetables, and the sight and the smell alone reminded her of just how hungry she really was. Not that she knew what any of it was, but it looked delicious, and she was always eager to try new dishes, anyway. And she didn't have any allergies that she knew of, either, so it was fine.

The innkeeper returned with her silverware, which the blonde huntress-in-training took with a nod of gratitude, digging in with gusto. Not only had it been too long since she had eaten properly – entirely her fault, she had turned down a lot of food her father had made for her during the time she had spent in depression, and even afterwards she had barely felt any appetite, which of course now came back around to bite her in the ass – but there was also no telling when she'd be able to eat like this again during the next few days. She didn't exactly know the area, if there were any villages she could stop in for the nights or if she – and she definitely would at least once – would have to set up camp somewhere and sleep under the open sky, eating whatever she had around.

The latter, of course, with one eye open, considering that she would be alone and Grimm could attack at any moment. It would be lonely and it would suck, but the only alternative was to never stop driving until she reached a settlement, and for all she knew, that could take a day or two straight.

As she cut off a piece of the beef and began to chew on it, her mind trailed back to the old man she had met. First and foremost, he had been right about the food, it was simply outstanding, but more importantly, she only realized then that she had never caught his name. Had he mentioned it, to begin with? How had she noticed only then?

She'd have to ask him the next time she met him – there was going to be a next time, no doubt about it, she still had a lot of questions, and she felt like she owed him her story either way.

Continuing her meal in silence – the innkeeper had moved further down the bar to tend to other customers, a group of friends that had entered after her and obviously had something to celebrate, based on their volume and the amount of alcohol they ordered – the blonde leaned further over the bar.

It could be worse. Probably. At least she was out of bed and doing something, anything, to get her team back together. No longer moping and mourning after what she'd lost. The tavern seemed nice enough, the food was great, and she wouldn't spend her first night out in the open. All in all, not too bad of a start of her first solo journey, so things definitely were looking up.

Or so she thought, until she heard the commotion from the other side of the tavern, somewhere behind her.

At first, she didn't really pay any attention too it – if the time she had spent searching clues for her mother's whereabouts and all the countless visits to some shady bars had taught her anything, then it was that things like that happened in places like this.

Besides, it wasn't her business, not unless she made it hers.

As the situation continued, however, and it began to annoy her, she dared to look up from her dinner, after all. Following the gaze of the innkeeper to one of the darker corners of the room, closer to the entrance, she spotted the source of the noise – two men, one of them lanky and his face scarred, the other a bit shorter and more muscular, both wearing the same reddish segmented shoulder pieces and the dark ragged clothes, slightly torn and dirty, almost as if they'd moved through the forest with them a lot. The twigs and leaves she spotted on the lanky guy's clothes seemed to support that theory.

She had half a mind to turn back to her food now that she knew where the sound was coming from, but that was when she spotted just what had the two guys so irritated to begin with – it was the young Faunus boy that they had cornered, and, under the slowly narrowing eyes of a certain brawler, took a small pouch from, the shorter man threatening the boy with a knife.

Immediately, Yang felt her blood pressure sent soaring, hands both organic and fake curling tighter around the silverware she'd been given. Still adjusting to the prosthetic limb and learning the true extent of its strength, the result was that the hilt of the knife was bent out of shape – and that was the object she was holding in her left hand. Poor fork.

And yet, she didn't get up.

Quite the contrary, she went back to her food, turning her back to the situation on the other side of the room like everyone else was. In the past, she would've jumped and rushed over to help – but that wasn't her. Not anymore. That was the hotheaded and powerful Yang, the brawler that didn't hate anything more than injustice and the exploitation of the weak. The one that stood up for people that couldn't, the one that would've gladly taken a bullet for any friend and most strangers if it meant that she changed something.

Just look where that had got her – a one-armed freak, abandoned by nearly everyone – of course, not all by choice, and technically she was at fault for it as well, having thought of herself as a burden to everyone – and sitting in some tavern in a kingdom she couldn't know less about.

The last time she had done it, thoughtlessly rushing in to save someone else, it had cost her an arm, her strength, and a lot of herself. She still saw the situation again and again, most often in her nightmares, Blake cowering on the ground, bleeding, and that weird freak with the sword standing over her.

In a way, this situation reminded her of it. A Faunus, unable to defend itself, threatened by someone with a blade. She wanted to help, wanted to interfere, she would rush in – so what would it be this time? The other arm? A leg? Perhaps an eye? Maybe it would be something simple, a scar, which she didn't mind, or it would turn out in her favor and she'd remain unscathed. But she wouldn't be able to run from it forever. It would happen again. She still hadn't regained her balance, both literally, as her movements in battle were off with the different weight and her aura wasn't working like it had used to either, and figuratively, still shaken even with how long ago it had happened.

Leaned over her food, but not actually returning to it, she bit down on her lower lip and stared at the beef, watching a drop of the sauce running down its side. Begged that someone would already do something, that someone would be brave – or perhaps stupid – enough to walk over and start a fight with the two guys that were robbing the poor Faunus boy in the middle of a crowded room with everyone watching.

But no one did.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, played with the thought of heading to her room early and skip dinner after all, just to escape this situation, but the memory of that White Fang freak _stabbing_ Blake to get to her played out in front of her inner eye, in the darkness. Even in her own mind, she didn't get the peace she wanted. That she fucking _deserved._

And then, a gasp from the Faunus boy reached her eyes just at the same time that Blake, in her memory, cried out as her own past self jumped right into the blade with her arm now gone reaching back.

Her eyes shot open. Her stool screeched as it was moved over the ground, the brawler suddenly standing over her dinner, fingers digging into the wooden bar. She couldn't endure it any longer. She pushed her food away from her.

"Never again."

* * *

"Come on, now, do you really want us to believe that this is all?" sneered the lanky guy with his scratchy voice, waving the pouch that the boy had given them in his face. He watched as the boy cowered further into the corner, his whole body shaking in fear as the lanky guy's partner waved his knife a bit closer to his face, and his grin grew as the boy finally shook his head.

"See, this little rat here has been hiding something from us, after all! I told you!" huffed the muscular guy towards his partner, his own voice deep and husky, and moved his knife back a bit. The lanky one rolled his eyes and groaned, but didn't feel like correcting his numbskull of a comrade that it had been exactly the other way around and he had insisted that this couldn't be all – no point in it. Wouldn't change a thing with that idiot.

The loud sound of a chair being pushed over the wooden floor in the otherwise silent tavern had him turn his head to see what it was about, but spotting the young blonde woman – obviously not from Mistral – on the other side of the room leaving the bar and heading for the stairs just had him roll his eyes again. No interference, after all.

Then again, no one in the room would be so stupid as to actually do that, not with how afraid they were of their boss.

"What made you think you can cross us, huh? Think we're stupid?"

The lanky one rolled his eyes at his partner yet again – sometimes, he felt like he wasn't doing anything else when they were sent on a mission together – mentally commenting that, yes, there was at least one idiot among them, but left it at that.

"It's always the same with you newbies." he began himself, actually leaning forward and placing a hand against the wall above the Faunus boy, smirk growing as the boy did the impossible and actually shrunk away even further. "You're sent on your first retrieval mission, you grab as much as you can carry, and then think you can keep some of it for yourself – or, like you did, just take off by yourself and try to hide with all of. You haven't learned yet, have you? You don't gather for your own good, but for that of us all."

"You don't know how glad you should be that they sent us to remind you to come back home, punk!" scowled the muscular guy and moved his knife back towards the Faunus, "We're nice. Friendly, aren't we? Have mercy. We were gatherers once as well."

Sadly back then a team already, the lanky one thought, remembering just too well which of them did all the work, while the other just used his muscles to carry all the stuff back home.

"The boss wasn't. The boss doesn't care. You're a real lucky fellow that we're here now and not the boss. Is in the area, too, y'know? Bit busy, but thought about showing up in person, just for you. 's always willing to remind the newbies how we work. Never is your lucky day if that happens."

Sighing at the 'eloquence' of the moron with the knife, the lanky guy shook his head, but figured that he had got the point across. He pulled his hand back, but just enough to ball it to a fist and hammer it against the wall again, actually scaring the Faunus boy enough that he lost his balance and fell onto his butt, sliding down the wall until he was sitting at the foot of it.

"Alright, bud, where's the rest of it? Scouts told us that there was more to get, and the other gatherers all returned with their stuff, we're just missing what you...Hm?"

Feeling someone tap him on the shoulder, firm and powerful, he turned his head ever so slightly to glance over his shoulder. Paled at the sight of who it was, opened his mouth – and shut it. Unwillingly, as a fist hit his jaw hard enough to sent him spinning around, stumbling over his own feet as the full force of nausea hit him, and ultimately sprawling across the closest table.

At his defeat, his partner spun around to face their aggressor, flipping his knife around to use it in combat. Spotting the attacker, he frowned at the sight of the blonde woman with the bright red eyes, thinking she looked uncannily familiar, but that was before he suddenly found his legs being kicked out from underneath him and was falling forwards.

A hand curled around the back of his neck, colder and harder than any normal limb should be, and it pushed him, accelerating his fall, slamming him face first into and through an old wooden tabletop. He didn't see the other side of the wood anymore, out cold by that time, hanging from the remains of the furniture in an almost comical way.

Yang let out a deep and powerful huff, pulling her mechanical hand back and curling it to a fist. She rolled her shoulder – almost as much of the arm that had remained – and scowled at the muscular guy she had put through the table. All muscle, no brain, no challenge.

The lanky one was an entirely different thing, though, recovering faster than she had expected and pushing himself back up onto his feet. Proving he was smarter, he kept his distance as he saw that the brawler was glaring his way, instead reaching behind his back and pulling his weapons on her – two Sai, piercing melee weapons that always reminded Yang of oversized deformed forks, thought that was completely subjective. They didn't even look that much like them.

Spinning the Sai around his fingers – show-off, didn't serve any real purpose – he scowled at her before he actually struck, jumping forward and attempting to stab her in the stomach, but she took a step back and out of his reach, bringing her normal fist down on his. Though he grunted in pain and was forced to let go of the weapon, hand going limp, he did a 180 and swung his Sai backwards to stab her, missing only when the young huntress-in-training leaned out of the way.

With her still in reach, he twirled around in hope to get her this time – and his eyes went wide when the brawler not only caught the weapon, the sharp tip of the Sai sliding harmlessly along her palm before she twisted her wrist and curled her fingers around the prong, but actually yanked on it with such force that he was pulled towards her.

The lanky guy opened his mouth to gasp, but it was drowned out by the screeching of metal on metal, the blonde bending the Sai with almost no effort required at all – and then did a 180 towards him herself, her left elbow at the height of his head. That was the last thing he saw before he joined his partner in unconsciousness, collapsing.

Snorting, Yang let go of the bent Sai, letting it fall to the ground next to its defeated owner, chuckling to herself as it thrummed on the old wooden floor. Amateurs. To believe that she had hesitated for a second. Even Torchwick could've stood more hits.

Bending down next to the table she had sent the lanky guy with the scratchy voice falling onto with the first hit, the blonde brawler picked up the pouch that the two guys had taken from the Faunus boy. Brown leather, probably made by hand. Whatever it contained, it was heavy, but she figured it was most likely money.

A sigh – less out of exasperation or exhaustion than simply because she felt like it – escaped her as she rose, shaking her head at the two poor morons she had just taken care of, and with the Faunus' pouch in hand she turned towards him. And watched him flinch as he noticed that her attention was on him, trying his best to scurry back into the corner.

"I'm not going to hurt you." she informed him, even though it didn't seem to calm him in the slightest. Not until she tossed his pouch onto his lap, a move that was actually met with confusion. "These guys took that from you, right?"

For a short moment, the Faunus boy – some kind of Wolf Faunus, as she could tell now that she was closer to him, his hair and tail black as the night, kind of reminded her of Ruby in a way – simply stared at her, then at the pouch on his lap, then back at her like she had just grown a second head right in front of him. Seemed he didn't get to experience a lot of kindness if that was his reaction to it, at least in Yang's eyes.

"No need to thank me, just make sure these guys don't corner you like that again, okay? Can't stand bullies." Or racists, she added mentally, reminded of all the torment that Blake and, as she knew from Coco, Velvet had gone through in their lives.

Seeing as the young Wolf Faunus wasn't going to say anything anytime soon, and that she still had her dinner waiting for her, the blonde nodded to the boy a last time before she turned away from him and began to make her way back to the bar. It was dead silent in the room, everyone was staring. She couldn't care less.

"T-thanks. But..."

Hearing the meek voice behind her, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder to the Faunus still resting at the bottom of the wall, who was still looking at her but avoiding to meet her gaze directly. Gently, she rose an eyebrow to urge him to continue, he looked like he had something important to say, and he slowly gnawed on his lower lip. He didn't say anything for another minute, hesitating with whatever he had to say.

Instead, she watched as he slowly pushed himself up and rose to his feet – he didn't stand any taller than Ruby or Weiss – while holding the pouch with both of his hands. He still looked nervous and intimidated, but at least he seemed to be okay, which was a bit of comfort for the brawler.

"B-be careful. These two, you don't know their boss, she's a real scary one. Real powerful, carries a big club. She'll come after you now, I'm sure of it!"

The blonde merely rose her eyebrow a bit higher, her eyes wandering to the two unconscious guys. Considering that the young Faunus had been scared of them, too, and she had defeated them easily, she didn't find herself too bothered. Plus, she had fought a club-wielding foe before, namely Hei 'Junior' Xiong, and had taken him down as well. Was sure she could take him even now, one-handed. Couldn't say the same thing about his two bodyguards, the Malachite Twins, who had been actually been nice challenge even with both arms, which didn't happen too often.

Hadn't they been so goddamn snobby, she would've considered meeting with them more often for the one or other sparring. Maybe they could've even become friends, she felt like they made decent ones. Plus, not many people could say they were friends with mercenaries, right?

"I think I can take her, kiddo, don't worry about me, but I appreciate the warning. I'm just glad you're fine."

She didn't wait for him to say anything, doubted he would anyway, and actually made her way back to the bar this time. The innkeeper was more or less already awaiting her there, baffled much like everyone else in the room was, which Yang merely appreciated with an amused snort. Good to see that the old Yang wasn't completely gone, that some of her was still in her.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out another wad of Lien, more then necessary, and tossed it onto the bar in front of the innkeeper, the only reaction she was eliciting with that being that the woman cringed.

"For the damages and inconveniences I caused." she clarified and reached for her plate, picking it up, "And for a new fork. Do you mind if I take this to my room?"

Mouth still open, the innkeeper slowly shook her head and, with shaking hands, placed a new set of cutlery in front of the blonde huntress-in-training. With a nod, Yang reached for it and picked it up as well, placing it on her plate aside the beef.

"Thanks. Keep the rest. I'll leave the plate on the bar in the morning before I leave."

With that, she made for the stairs again, climbing them slowly, every wooden step creaking loudly, all eyes still on her. Couldn't say that this was how she had meant for her journey to start – hell, ever since leaving the ship, nothing had been how she had expected it, starting with meeting that old man and ending with the fight – but knew that there was nothing she could do about it. Had never been able to. This wasn't the first time she got into trouble like this, after all.

At the top of the stairs, she remembered something and stopped, turning her head again to glare over her shoulder at the silent room. Quite a few people flinched when she suddenly turned, but she couldn't care less about that.

"Before I forget..." she called out, sure that everyone could hear her with how silent it was, then nodded to the corner that she had left the guys in, one still hanging in that table and the other lying motionless on the floor, "...someone throw these two clowns out. I'm sick of them already, they dampen the mood, and now they're getting the floor filthy."

With dinner in hand, she left for the room she had rented. She hadn't even really started her journey, and she needed all the rest she could get. She'd ask for directions to where she could head next, whatever settlement she could reach before nightfall, but figured that she hadn't really made the best impression on the townsfolk and it was for the better if she left without causing another ruckus or something. Maybe she could stop in the next village or city along the way and ask there, or just grab a map from somewhere. Scrolls still weren't exactly working right, after all.

As she unlocked the door to her room, pushing it open with her shoulder, she stopped a last time to take a deep breath. This wasn't what she had expected at all, but maybe what she had needed to kick this off. Only time would tell.

Finally, she entered the comfy looking room and closed the door behind her, one final thought on her mind. It was the same thought that had passed through her mind as she had stood up at the bar to help the young Faunus.

"Never again. Never again will I fail someone who needs me."


	2. Chasing Echoes

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or its characters. They belong to Rooster Teeth. _  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Chasing Echoes**

The wind tearing at her clothes and roaring in her ears, nearly drowning out the loud rumble of her bike, Yang was following the foggy main road on Bumblebee early the next morning. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, nearly entirely invisible through the forest that surrounded the dirt road, its rays turning the white haze into a phantasmal curtain that covered the land.

In a way, it was true what they said, Mistral was the kingdom of myth and fantasy. At least, it really seemed like that to the blonde at that moment. Too bad she didn't have time for the scenic route.

Having left the port town behind almost two hours ago, the salty taste of the sea air finally seemed to dissipate as well, leaving only the fog to follow her like a silent ghostly companion, parting beneath her bike's front wheel and chasing along with the wind that was whirled up by her speed, leaving a cleft behind. Soon to close again, the curtain once more falling over the path like it was reaching for the back of her bike, obscuring what was beneath.

No trace left. Just like with Blake.

Blinking hard, lifting an arm off the handlebar to wipe at her right eye with her wrist, she let out a quiet growl. Although out of character for her, usually one for safety, she had left her helmet behind at home, figuring it would be just additional weight, and though she had her goggles with her, she hadn't bothered to put them on. It wasn't dust or dirt that was irritating her eyes, too humid for that, it was the lack of sleep and the glare of the low morning sun. And putting on the goggles meant she had to stop and retrieve them from the inside of her coat, and she didn't really have time for that.

Not when she didn't really know where she was currently headed, other than in the general direction of the capital, to Haven Academy, which was where Ruby was going. Probably already at. And the sooner she joined them, the better. They could still figure out how to find and unite with Weiss and Blake then.

Leaning over the handlebar, Yang accelerated again. The road was empty this early in the morning – heck, probably was most of the day, save for the occasional traveler – and she could technically go as fast as she could, but not only was that dangerous for her in case of an accident, it also couldn't be good for Bumblebee, and little could be as bad as for the bike to break down. Not only because the bike meant a lot to her, but also because it meant she would be stranded, with the bike slowing her down rather than the opposite. And fixing it – which, in the first place, would require finding a place that had the necessary equipment and the necessary parts, latter by itself was nearly impossible because of how much of her bike was customized, and ordering them would slow her down even further and was likely well-nigh impossible with the CCT down – way expensive.

Suddenly, she found herself glad that her father had insisted she'd take that much money along – he had been right, you never knew how much you were going to need, and it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, she was barely twenty-four hours in Mistral, and had already had to pay for damages she had caused, back in the tavern. Even if it had been to help that Faunus boy.

A scowl found its way onto her face as she remembered the two guys that she had saved the young Wolf Faunus from. They had most of the tavern scared enough not to interfere, and that though they had neither been skilled nor particularly intimidating, which only meant that it was not them that they were scared about, but what they represented. Who they represented. The Wolf Faunus had mentioned their 'boss', and though she had played it down, she was slightly worried about that individual.

Thing was, Mistral didn't work like Vale, they had made sure to cover that during lessons in Beacon. For its size, Mistral was sparsely populated, a giant uninhabitable swamp to the west and otherwise mostly forests that the creatures of Grimm reigned in, yet to be fought back. But the creatures of Grimm weren't the only thing roaming the forests that one had to be afraid about.

Unlike Vale, Mistral was separated into three classes. The higher class, compromised of nobles, famous artists and the like – tradition and art, creativity in all shapes, was considered to be of great value in Mistral. The middle class, basically common civilians – bakers, farmers, blacksmiths, all those. And then, there was what was considered to be the lower class.

Bandits, rogues, criminals – and recently, the local branch of the White Fang as well. Both independent and organized. The kind of people who lived off plundering the other two classes. Who stole, deceived, destroyed, murdered. Lived in the woods, in camps and caves, always on the move. One could only guess how many it were, but it was believed that it were almost as many as Mistral had nobles and artists.

In Mistral, crime payed off these days. Then again, Torchwick and his tricolored partner had probably thought the same about Vale. Probably had been right about it, too, prior to the fall of it that he had never got to experience.

Without a doubt, the two guys she had beaten blue and green the night prior belonged to one such group of bandits. That they had worn nearly identical clothes, some kind of uniform – gray, and then that red segmented shoulder piece – and that a 'boss' that they worked for had been mentioned indicated that.

Crap. One day in and she had already made a bunch of bandits her enemy. She could only hope that they were based close to the shore she had come from and not spread all across the kingdom, so that they wouldn't become a problem again. There was no way that she had made herself enough of a target just by defeating two weaker members that they'd chase her, especially if she entered territory that belonged to their rivals – they'd risk getting in trouble if they did.

Either way, she knew she had to avoid running into more trouble. It was bad enough that she had agitated one group of bandits, another or even several more would be signing a death certificate. Maybe not now, but she had a feeling that they didn't forgive easily. Held grudges, and hunted down targets to the ends of Remnant if deemed necessary. Not something she wanted. It was one thing to mess with Junior, and entirely different one to mess with the real deal.

However, traveling by herself, she had to be careful to begin with, bike or not. Danger lurked everywhere outside the settlements, and most Grimm were either fast enough to keep up or big enough that they could block her way. The only advantage she had over them was that they weren't the brightest bunch and only acting on instincts, but that was what made the lower class of Mistral so dangerous – they had wit, they had speed, they knew the area and set up traps for unsuspecting travelers. Yeah, she was a huntress-in-training and she expected it, she was powerful, but if it were twenty or thirty, or possibly even more, bandits against one? Against her? No way she'd win. Even she, whose second home was in the midst of battle, who grew stronger the more hits she took, couldn't do that.

Never could, and definitely couldn't any longer.

There were only two things in battle that she considered herself to be outmatched by – numbers and speed – and two things that she truly respected – strength and skill. Beyond that, outside the battle, there were other things she valued, of course, like family and friendship.

Her hold tightened around the handlebar at the thought and her scowl grew into a low snarl, teeth bared, eyes narrowing and focusing harder on the near invisible road ahead.

Which of those two things she was more vulnerable to at that time, she couldn't tell.

* * *

The gravel scrunched underneath her heavy boots, feet dragging over the ground. Breath slow and even, her eyes darted left and right, scanning the surroundings with great caution and disdain at what she saw.

Coming to a stop in the middle of the road, she slowly crouched down and took the shades – as the sun had risen higher in the sky, she had eventually decided to at least put these on – off with her actual hand, the prosthetic one going for the ground she was crouching on. Mechanical digits wiping through the dirt, staining them, she rolled her thumb over her index and middle fingers. Watched the fine gray powder trickle down slowly.

"Ash." she whispered to herself, scowling at the small heap that had formed beneath her fingers, then rose her gaze and stared straight ahead, "It's cold already. Been so for long. What's in the air has already settled."

She rose to her feet and wiped her mechanical hand off on her pants, leaving a faint gray smear on the black material. Not that it bothered her, her clothes would get dirty anyway now that the sun was up and had removed the fog and the moisture, leaving the main road dry and dusty.

But the sun wasn't shining down on this godforsaken piece of earth, not anymore.

In front of her lay a village in ruins, buildings collapsed and burnt down, the black soot still clinging to the once white walls. Doors and windows hanging from their hinges, lampposts askew and bulbs broken, carts and benches burnt to cinders, the fences reduced to thin sticks black as coal. The townhall, a once without a doubt impressive building of several floors, reduced to one with a large hole in the middle. Even the trees hadn't been spared whatever had happened to the place, no more than burnt stumps and fallen remnants of what they had once been.

Years of progress, gone within the blink of an eye, laid to waste. Debris and ruin. The only thing that could've made this place any creepier was if the fog hadn't vanished as it had done earlier, instead crawling along the singed ground and in and out of the broken houses in slow and arbitrary wafts.

Taking a deep breath, Yang took a step backwards, gnashing her teeth. Nothing was alive anymore, no human, no Faunus, no animal, no plant. Curiously, not a single body seemed to be around, but the Grimm might as well have already taken them. Without a doubt, the area was crawling with them, the negative emotions and tragedy associated with this place drew them there like a moth to the light.

To believe that, most likely not too long ago, this had been the town of Shion. And worse, this was not the work of some Grimm – something much more cruel and messed up had done this. Something twisted that knew well what it was doing, what thought it knew how to control the elements it should be afraid of and had disrespect for everything and anything given the right circumstances. That exploited the very earth it was walking on, living off the starvation of it. Humans. And she had little doubt as to which kind.

Bandits.

Hands clenched to fists, she whirled around and marched back towards where she had parked Bumblebee just a few feet away from her. It was best not to stay for too long and get a move on, for different reasons than just wanting to catch up to Ruby as fast as possible. With the destruction of Shion dating back to a week or two ago, it was unlikely that the bandits were still around – maybe a scout or two, some scavengers raiding the last pieces that were of any value – but the place was most likely crawling with Grimm, feeding on the negative emotions associated with this godforsaken village.

Reaching into her pocket, she put her left hand onto the keys for Bumblebee. She hadn't meant to stay for long after seeing the state the village was in, anyway, hence why she had put them there rather than on her belt where she usually kept them. Idly, she played with them, running a finger along the side to identify the one she'd need to start her bike. The Grimm were probably already aware of her presence, her negative emotions much stronger than what lingered in the village, but while Grimm were known to prioritize strong emotions over weak, that didn't mean that they were all onto her. Not with how much misfortune had befallen this place – there was plenty around to distract them.

Starting her bike would change that, the loud roar of the engine would attract them, draw them away from where they were feeding, out of their hiding places. To defend their feeding grounds, to hunt new prey – who knew what really was going on in those beasts without a mind? Whatever it was, she didn't want to be around when the place went to hell a second time.

Ruby's group had probably skipped the place as well. Guessing from the state that Shion was in, they must've passed it shortly after whatever had decimated the entire village, before the Grimm came to claim it in the endless cycle that Remnant was in – human and Faunus fought the Grimm back, built their settlements, then either lost it to each other or had to abandon it, ultimately the Creatures of Grimm reclaimed it. Rinse and repeat.

One would think that progress was the goal of humanity, but Yang wasn't even really sure about that anymore – not when they only fought for territory that contained Dust that they could use to wage wars against another. War, the most lucrative business out there. And the Grimm, and people like the White Fang – they were the perfect excuses to continue doing so.

Truth was, the only people that fought with the aim to really to free Remnant of the threat that the Grimm were, were hunters and huntresses. Maybe a few mercenaries. But it wasn't them that civilians turned to in the more recent years, not with Atlas and their tin boxes. To which she didn't count Penny.

Penny had been different.

Penny. Pyrrha. Heck, even Roman, as much as she hadn't liked his smug ass; despite the fact that he'd been the enemy. All the nameless faces that had fallen with Beacon. Someone behind the scenes was pulling strings, the world was changing, possibly going to shit, and all that Atlas – and especially the Schnee Dust Company – was worried about was getting their asses out of trouble after the android fiasco in Vale.

If Weiss were leading the company, if Weiss had the kind of influence that whichever asshole in her family was currently leading the company had – things would be different. Weiss wouldn't chicken out of this, she'd be at the front and attempt to fix things, didn't care about reputation as long as she was doing the right thing.

It was time for a change, that someone stepped in and actually did something, rather than just being a goddamn wimp in a suit!

With a loud hiss, Yang leaned to the left, avoiding the leap of the Mistralian Beowolf that had attempted to sneak up on her. Her mechanical arm shot up and grabbed it by the front, fingers curling around midnight-black fur, pulling the beast along as she whirled around, screaming her lungs out.

Stupid thing barely had a chance to growl before it was thrown back the way it had come, straight into the group it had been leading. They fell like bowling pins, a few of them dragged along the one she had thrown into the remains of a burnt house's walls, which promptly collapsed atop them.

The air in front of the brawler's mouth was burning when she exhaled, part of the semblance she no longer had under control. Or rather, no longer as much under control as she had prior to what had happened at Beacon, her semblance had always been a whimsical and wayward thing. But it weren't just the crimson eyes and the burning hair anymore whenever she got real angry or had energy stored – it was almost like it had evolved. Gone a step further, escaped her control a bit more. And she dreaded to know if it could do so again.

Last time, her father had caught her, his training giving her back some control. There was a chance he wouldn't be there to do so a second time, one kingdom away from her as he was now. She was alone with it.

Closing her mouth, she rolled her shoulders and stood as tall as she could. She wouldn't rush in this time, she'd wait for her enemy to make a move and act accordingly, just like her father had taught her.

In silence, she let her gaze roam along the streets and buildings, watching as more and more Grimm kept emerging. Most of them were familiar to her, Creeps and Beowolves, basically the most common Grimm of all that adapted to any territory and kingdom – Mistralian Beowolves were slightly different in build and had longer and more angular and skull-like heads, Mistralian Creeps had a set of curved horns. Otherwise, they really weren't any different.

More intimidating was the sight of a Beringel emerging from the remains of the townhall's collapsed roof, large and gorilla-like Grimm, a type she hadn't encountered before as it wasn't native to Vale. The sight of it actually had her clenching her hands to fists and bare her teeth in a low growl – they were known for their tough hide and their great physical strength.

At least, there seemed to be no Nevermore around – although already familiar with them, she was at disadvantage against them for as long as they were in the air, and even on Bumblebee she wouldn't be unable to outrun it if it decided to chase her, not with the unfamiliar terrain and the forest. Mobility and aerial combat were more Ruby or Blake's thing. Even Weiss had a better chance against these things, thanks to her semblance. While able to catapult herself short distances with Ember Celica – at least, used to when it were two – Yang herself could only gain minimal air, and her shotgun was too inaccurate at long distances.

But these Grimm? She could deal with them, even without her second Ember Celica. There would be no way she'd win and exterminate them all, she was but a lone huntress-in-training and this place was basically _smelling_ of tragedy, the very definition of the feeding ground of Grimm, but it would be enough to drive them back long enough to jump on Bumblebee and make a run for it.

With Weiss not around to do it, she mentally scolded herself for having her emotions allowed to get the better of her for a moment – it was her anger that had lured them out of hiding and was now driving them to attack. And even if she were to get it back under control, the Grimm wouldn't stop now that they knew that she was capable of emiting such – at least to them – _delicious, powerful and fresh_ emotions.

Wriggling her mechanical fingers, irritated by the near lack of sensation and the odd weight that her right side had, by the knowledge that she no longer had Ember Celica on her dominant hand, she snarled louder – the Grimm didn't need more of a reason to attack, two Beowolves at the front suddenly charging. Not that they needed any to begin with.

But even without her right arm, the day that a common Beowolf would get the better of her would never come.

Bringing her right arm up, she backhanded the thing out of the way, letting her semblance reign free as to ensure it was removed from the fight, hitting something far to her right. And although that left her wide-open for the second Beowolf, she once again merely had to lean out of the way for it to miss her, allowing her to whirl around, one foot sliding over ground and whirling up the ash on it, as to keep facing it.

No sooner than it had landed, the Beowolf jumped again, coming back in her direction, but this time she was prepared for it. Taking a wide step towards it, her prosthetic fingers curled around its throat and intercepted the beast's leap, tearing it right out of the air and slamming it down on Bumblebee so that its back was bent over the seat – she knew her bike could take it, she had modified it and given it the armor it needed for such a situation.

Squirming in her grasp, the Beowolf attempted to escape, but in vain, the mechanical limb was too strong for it. For a second, Yang watched, eyes bright crimson – then, let go, just for a second as to adjust the position of her hand, shifted it higher, and pushed.

The crunch of the Beowolf's skull-like armor as its head was pushed back further than its neck could bent was almost sickening, but in a strange way, also exciting. Not because Yang deemed herself particularly sadistic or excessively enjoyed killing Grimm. Not because it was satisfying to feel as the struggling beast went limp beneath her cold and hard fingers, no.

Because it meant that she still could do it, that she still had what it took, dominant hand or not.

Even before the beast had completely dissolved, when the first smoke-like particles withered off the Wolf-Monster's body, she turned on her heels and rose the prosthesis in front of her face again – what had initially been meant to be another swing at one of the lupine creatures instead became much more dangerous for her when the sharp teeth curled around her limb, stopped only by its black and golden armor.

Pushed back a few inches, she suddenly found herself in a similar situation that the other Beowolf had just been in when her lower back met the side of her bike and the only way not to end up falling over with it was to lean back.

Her left hand resting against the bike's armor, feeling the warmth of the engine beneath from when it had been moved only minutes prior, she stared past her mechanical limb at the beast chewing on her prosthesis. Too close for her comfort, but there was no way to use her other hand, and thus the Ember Celica on it, not with how it was trapped behind her body.

Prosthetic arm shaking under the Beowolf's strength, she bared her teeth at the monster herself and began to push back. Thanks to her semblance supplying her with strength she needed – thank god that it stored the energy she didn't use up with every use – she managed to actually gain some space. And no sooner than she felt her left hand was free, she pulled it out from behind her back, not caring about the risk, and swung it.

A strange gargled growl escape the lupine Grimm when her fist impacted with its exposed belly. The single punch was enough to gain the upper hand temporarily, pushing it back so far that she could stand upright again, a chance that the blonde brawler made sure not to waste. The beast's teeth still attempting to break through her prosthesis' armor, she focused her entire strength on pulling that arm first up, then swung it down with all her might.

The wolf's teeth lost their grip on the smooth surface of the prosthesis, harmlessly sliding along it until they hit another moments before the beast's lower jaw bounced off the gravel road to the brawler's feet. It howled as it shot up again, stumbling backwards – and that was when the blonde's fist hit its thorax again. And this time, Ember Celica went off, pellets tearing through the Mistralian Beowolf's torso and actually stopping the approach of another Grimm behind it.

As both creatures began to dissolve, Yang pulled her arm back and ejected the spent cartridge from her weapon – she had to be a lot more careful with ammunition in the future, now that it was just one Ember Celica she had to rely on. As much as she hated that thing, the prosthetic arm wasn't useless in combat – it was powerful and tough, as it had proven just then. So that was something, at least. She still rather had her own arm back.

A sudden ear-piercing roar reminded her of the Beringel's presence, the gorilla-like beast still standing down the road and having watched. Until then, when it brought down its mighty hands down on the ground, digging its thumbs into the pavement it stood on.

With one mighty leap, catching the brawler off guard, the beast was up in her face, falling towards her – despite her caution when it came to that thing, she had completely underestimated it, leaving retreat as the only option.

The jump backwards was awkward and poorly executed, but saved her from the punishment that the gravel road right where she'd been standing faced – the gorilla Grimm's giant paws hit it with such force that the ground actually gave in, a crater the size of an Alpha Beowolf and so deep that Yang could've hidden in there standing.

Gnashing her teeth in frustration, the sound of which remained inaudible under the Grimm's new roar, the blonde rushed forward and tackled into the beast with her mechanical arm in front of her. While the attack itself proved fruitless – not that she had expected it to work – she exploited the momentum she had created by pushing off the ground at the last second before the impact, throwing her body forwards into the larger Grimm.

Thankful that her prosthetic arm couldn't feel it, she pushed it towards her enemy while she was at an odd angle in the air in front of it, catapulting herself off it and up into the air. It growled as it rose its gaze to follow its prey, but that was what the young huntress had counted on, swinging her one remaining weapon to trigger its firing mechanism.

Pellets rained down on the Beringel, but did little more than annoy it even further as they almost harmlessly bounced off its hide and fell to the floor, shards of red in the sea of gravel and mud. The Grimm opened its jaws to roar, spit flying from its jaws – before the golden fist of the human hit its ugly face. With the force of gravity enhancing the shotgun-powered punch, the Beringel's head was actually sent downwards into the ground, an inhuman scream echoing through the silent village as it hit it at velocity it clearly wasn't meant to have.

It did hurt the beast, but was far from enough to possibly kill it.

Standing on the dazed beast's giant shoulders, Yang let out a deep breath – the possibly only breather she'd get in this situation.

How right she was, she knew when more Beowolves emerged from the buildings, lured by the sounds of the fight. Worse, the Beringel beneath her feet was stirring, recovering. Time for round two.

As the Beringel actually rose and swung its paw over its own head at her, she jumped – first off the back, then off the hand as it passed her – and allowed the thing to hit a leaping Beowolf instead, not only smashing it into the ground but outright killing it in the process, before firing Ember Celica. Into the sky, away from her opponent.

Like the mindless monster it was, the Beringel stared up at her completely clueless of what she was actually doing, saliva dripping from its fangs as it tried to understand and figured out how to get her. But that was when she came falling out of the sky, accelerated by her weapon, landing on the giant's back with enough force to actually smash his entire body down into the ground. And though she heard some of the bone-like structures on its chest crack, she had no time to celebrate this small achievement, instead being forced to waste another shotgun shell by pushing herself off the gorilla Grimm as fast as possible to avoid a Beowolf striking.

Her feet sled over the gravel, heels slightly digging into it in the attempt to stop without sending herself falling over backwards. Even before she actually came to a stop, she had to block the Beowolf following her, swinging her prosthesis from left to right and tearing the thing right out of the air.

Keeping the momentum, she twirled on the spot and got another one stupid enough to follow the previous one, turned again with the remaining speed, changed the position of her arms and – in a motion not quite unlike some kind of dance, something more like Weiss' movements but with her own brutal touch – brought her mechanic hand down on a third lupine Grimm. _Swatted_ it like a fly, its jaw digging into the ground by her feet.

A roar alerted her to the recovery of the Beringel, but she had no time to prepare for what it did along that roar – namely, throwing a goddamn Creep that it had snatched off the ground right at her. Although she raised her arms at the last second, the impact carried her off her feet, back hitting the ground first, the weight of the lizard Grimm still on her torso and limiting her capability to breathe.

Saliva dripped onto her face, the sharp teeth of the lizard-like thing only inches away from it as she overcame the pain and opened her eyes. Weren't it for her hands holding the jaws apart, the Creep would've already torn into her neck and shoulder and attempted to bite a good chunk out of it – thank god she had aura to protect her.

In the end, however, it was still just a Creep, the only thing she knew that was weaker than the common Beowolf – Mistralian variant or not, it took her barely any strength to pry its jaws apart further than they were meant to, putting the thing out of its misery and discarding it off to the side.

With it out of the way, she had clear view of the actual threat, the Beringel, again – and suppressed a gasp when she saw it already mid-leap, falling towards her with both of its fists raised above it. As she had guessed, the bone-like plates on its chest had taken some damage, although it was minimal, and far off from something that would lead to the defeat of the beast.

Aware that she'd never be fast enough to roll out of the way, the brawler braced herself for the inevitable impact – she was about to do something terribly stupid, she knew it, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. She concentrated her aura, gathering as much of it as she could to minimize the pain and damage, and just before the monster actually hit, pulled her legs and her prosthetic arm up.

The pain was enormous and had her scream out sharply as the weight of the giant hit her legs – without aura, they would've bent like an accordion, no doubt – but she followed her only plan through and, with the power that the impact provided her semblance with, pushed.

Not even knowing what was happening to it, the Beringel was thrown off her, catapulted into the wall of a broken building, which collapsed atop it in its entirety, burying the creature. Meanwhile, Yang found herself in the middle of a somersault backwards, landing flat on her front.

Sobbed, cried at the pain inside her legs, teeth digging into her lower lip hard enough to draw blood – her aura was depleted, but a quick glance down confirmed that her legs were, despite the pain, alright. No bones sticking out, no blood, not bent at weird angles. She wouldn't be using them much for the rest of that day, however, she already knew that. Even on Bumblebee, this would be a ton of pain due to the vibrations.

Fingers both organic and mechanical digging into the dirt, teeth bared and eyes closed, she remained like that for a second, waiting for the pain to subside. The Beringel wouldn't be down forever and the other Grimm wouldn't be intimidated for long, she had to move and use this chance to escape.

Much to her shame, the idea of using her enemy's own strength against it wasn't her own – it was the only strategy she had actually ever been defeated by, a fight in which her opponent had never actually attacked on its own, a fight in which she had never once landed a hit herself. The only thing she had ever achieved in that fight was running into traps and giving her enemy the strength it needed to knock her out. It was Neo's strategy, which only made it worse that she had to rely on it. The thought would've made her sick, had she not already been feeling that way.

Breathing in, she hammered a prosthetic fist down on the ground and used it to push herself up onto all fours. Her legs were weak and wobbly even then, but she couldn't allow that to keep her down, not in the middle of the Grimm's feeding ground.

Stumbling to her feet, she felt her pockets for her things, glad to have done so when she found her keys for Bumblebee absent – she rather not thought of the consequences had she discovered the absence of them on her bike while attempting to escape. Where she was, it wasn't hard to find them, lying to her feet in the gravel right where she had ended up after the Creep had hit her.

As fast as she could, keeping an eye out for any approaching threat, she snatched them off the ground, whirled around and made a dash for her bike, keeping her actual hand balled into a fist around the keys, ready to fire Ember Celica at anything coming too close if necessary. With her aura gone, any hit was fatal, and she was outnumbered and forced to make a run for it. Even of Bumblebee and at high speed, she wouldn't be safe. Not until she had left this godforsaken place behind and found a place to rest for the night. Preferably an inn, or at least within the walls of a settlement so that her aura could recover without any interruptions. She'd need it for the next stage of her journey.

She had made it halfway to her bike when a sound not quite unlike an explosion – at least in volume – resounded through the dead silence of Shion, accompanied by the by then hauntingly familiar roar of the Beringel and several flying bricks. Still running, she turned her head - as expected, the creature had recovered once more and emerged from the collapsed building, and that at the worst moment. Had it taken it just a tad longer to recover and free itself, she would've made it!

Lips curling up in a snarl, she spun around – running backwards, still away from the Grimm and towards her bike – and made the clip inside of Ember Celica turn, orange rolling along the cylinder until three red shells were at the top.

With the loss of her arm, a kind of paranoia had set in along with the feeling of no longer being invulnerable like she had once felt – before Neo happened, actually, the first time that reality attempted to catch up to her. After that, she hadn't felt as invincible anymore, but still confident. And then, the Vytal Festival. The loss of her arm and the loss of Blake.

It was this paranoia that had made her somewhat more precautious, a curse as much as it was a blessing. Cause although it rarely let her sleep peaceful at night anymore, she had at least been able to think ahead – with the loss of the second Ember Celica, she had only half as many cartridges at any given time. Cut down from twenty-four shells to twelve. Literally. She'd have to reload more often, which took time that she may not have in the situation she'd find herself in.

In the past, she'd have balanced this out by switching the clip of only one Ember Celica if she'd have to switch between close range and ranged combat, shotgun ammunition for the point blank attacks and the flare ammunition for targets far away or harder to hit, compensated for by the explosion. With only one Ember Celica, this was no longer possible.

That's why, before she had left, after spray painting the weapon and her new prosthetic arm, she had spent a night taking the thing apart to change the mechanism rotating the next shell into place to be freely accessible by her. Since her clips were already custom-made, she just had to forge new ones. No longer just one type a clip. Nine regular, three flare – just in case she ever had to switch.

Like right then.

She still had to use them sparingly, maybe more so than if she had stuck with one type a clip, but it paid off. At least, she had been assured of it when she had made them in her paranoia, but having never had to use them before afterward, it remained a mere speculation. Until this very moment, where she finally got to test that theory.

Throwing a punch into thin air, she triggered the firing mechanism and primed the flare inside the red cartridge, sending the glowing projectile out. It howled as it soared across the ruined village at the gorilla-like Grimm, minimal recoil actually affecting the brawler herself – unlike her regular ammunition, flares barely had any, at times like these a clear downside as it would've thrown her towards her bike, but one couldn't have everything.

Swinging her fist, she ejected the empty cartridge and let the next flare take its place, but hesitated to fire it. She did have more clips like this, but only a bunch, and she couldn't tell when she'd next get an opportunity to forge more. At worst, Haven. Every flare she had would count for the moment.

To see the flare miss, even though she hadn't expected for the Beringel to just run straight into the volatile projectile either, only irritated her even more because of that, eye twitching as the flare hit the destroyed building that the Grimm had reemerged from. Wasted.

The clip spun anew in the brightly colored gauntlet, rotating around until the orange cartridges were lined up with the muzzle again as the charging Grimm drew closer. Casting a short glance into the direction she was actually still moving into – backwards, that was – she did her best to estimate the distance left between her and the bike, and whether or not a single recoil from the gauntlet – even though it wouldn't send her straight towards it but at an odd angle because of the single weapon – would suffice to close it.

Before she ever came to a conclusion, though, the situation turned around completely.

She thought the Beringel was her biggest problem, one that she could deal with, however. Perhaps not take down as she was, but at least hold off long enough to find a chance to escape. While Beringel were fast, especially in the forest, they were also known to avoid chasing their targets down if they had found their feeding grounds. This one had, she just had to outrun it.

But that was before the townhall at the end of the road suddenly burst apart into a thousand tiny splinters, a giant black shape emerging from it not unlike a phoenix rising from the ashes. The metaphor seemed to be so fitting, considering that it was a Nevermore that spread its giant wings into the sky and cried so loud that it would've shaken windows were there any left, whirling up the ashes still covering the ground.

Baring her teeth and raising her arms in front of her to shield her face from the strong winds that the giant bird created. Her heels digging into the ground to avoid being swept away by them, she found herself tethered to the ground, no longer able to run.

A Nevermore. A freaking Nevermore. From one second to the next, the situation had turned from bad to worse. Cause although familiar with this Grimm, more than she liked, there was no way she'd outrun it – Nevermore did hunt. Relentlessly. She had heard tales of a Nevermore circling above a mountain that a wounded huntsman had hid in for days after chasing it for hours. Had it not been for other huntsmen showing up, who knew how long the situation would've continued.

Slowly, she lowered her arms and glared up at the winged beast. It wasn't particularly large, at least in comparison to the ones she had already encountered, leading her to believe that it was still 'young'. Possibly had just been 'born' that moment, however the hell that happened. Still didn't make it any less of a threat.

At least the other threat had been taken care of – as she scanned her surroundings for it and the other Grimm still around, she was surprised by the sight of the Beringel mid-jump. Impaled through its left shoulder on one of the giant black feathers that were embedded into the ground and the buildings all around, hanging limp and broken. Some problems just did solve themselves.

She couldn't waste any time now, the Nevermore was already aware of her but had yet to attack. Though, for a moment, she considered to resort to the Beringel's tactic and pick up bricks and other things to throw at it, she discarded the idea just as quickly – it wouldn't be effective enough, even with her prosthetic arm, and the chance that she could throw it hard enough to actually hit the flying Grimm was questionable.

There was only one way to deal with this, as much as she didn't like it.

Whirling around on the spot, the brawler made a dash for her bike, swung a leg over it and put the key into the ignition. There was no point in attempting to fight the Nevermore, not as she was right then, her best bet was to at least attempt losing it somewhere in the forest. Just long enough for her aura to recover, at the very least.

While turning the key in the ignition, she let Ember Celica rotate back to the flare ammunition. She had two left in the current clip, and while it wouldn't be enough to damage the Nevermore in any way, shape or form, it would be enough to hold the thing off should it come too close, and was more accurate than her regular shotgun ammunition in every way.

All she needed was to escape long enough for her aura to recover somewhat and to find a place from which she could reach the flying Grimm, to even out the odds and eliminate the only advantage the creature had over her.

About to put the hammer down, she turned her head to glare over her own shoulder in search of the flying monster – just in time to see it swoop down towards her, pulling its wings back to send another barrage of its giant feathers down at her. She cursed, twisted her wrist around the accelerator to get everything out of her beloved Bumblebee. The rear wheel spun and dug into the gravel right before she jolted forwards, eyes still on the giant bird.

It screamed as it swung its wings forward and Yang bit down on her tongue in hope to get away from the inevitable rain of projectiles.

And a projectile it was that tore through the sky, but not from the Nevermore down. Bright like a bolt of lightning and nearly as fast, the silver object broke through the darkness that had laid over the place when the Nevermore had whirled up the dormant ash, and tore through the giant bird's neck from the side.

Eyes wide, Yang stopped her bike momentarily and stared up at the beast that had terrified her only moments before, now falling from the sky – dead, already dissolving. The projectile – on second glance, she could tell that it was a silver-glowing arrow of enormous size, a long chain hanging from it and connecting it to whatever it had been fired from on the ground, somewhere behind a row of destroyed houses – still embedded in its neck.

For just a second, relief washed over the blonde brawler, grateful towards whoever had saved her just then – whether friend or foe, she didn't even know, but that didn't mean anything right then. But there were still the other Grimm around, Grimm that still were a threat in their numbers, and the Beringel had got her good – she needed to leave, right then.

So hoping that whoever had just saved her was fine on their own, she put the hammer down again, charging on her bike right towards the closest exit to the village, right through a group of Creeps that attempted to block her path. Was once more glad to have modified her bike with heavy armor and the powerful engine.

Her first feeling had been right, this was a godforsaken place of earth.

* * *

"Did you see that? That punk is crazy! She took on a Beringel by herself, and she didn't end being its play ball and dinner!"

Sighing in response to his partner's observation, the lanky guy rose a hand and massaged his temple. Why was he putting up with this _again_? He ignored it as the other guy peeked over the debris they were hiding behind, instead scratching his shoulder with his Sai – of course he had seen that. They'd been following the bitch that had beaten them to pulps all morning – not an easy feat, considering the bike she was driving – and it had been _his_ idea to do so in the first place to get a jump on her! How the hell was he supposed to miss _that_?

"Grimm don't eat people." he growled eventually with his scratchy voice, "They consume the life that leaves their victims as they die. It's the despair that overcomes them in their last moments that is so tasty to these vile creatures."

"Roman Torchwick would like to disagree."

He glared the way of his partner, irritation growing as he saw the smug grin on the other man's face. Of course he had to bring that up, that idiot just loved how Roman Torchwick had gone out, ever since their boss had informed them of the famous thief's demise he had been bringing it up again and again.

If someone asked him, though, the lanky guy didn't find it funny in any way. Wouldn't want to trade with the thief, that just wasn't a way to go, just wasn't humane.

"Whatever."

"Yeah." chuckled the muscular bandit, obviously thinking he had won that argument, but then suddenly seemed to think of something, "Uh... Not that I'm complaining, dude, but shouldn't we be following her?"

"No, why?"

"But we've been following her the entire morning! What happened to ambushing her and getting our revenge?"

Another sigh from the lanky bandit. Just why did it always have to be that he was the only one of their duo that was using their brain? Couldn't his partner, just for once, think for himself and follow logic? Sometimes, he was wondering if his partner had been born with a brain at all.

"Course we're still gonna do that, you moron! But think about it, did you see her? She's weak, she needs to rest soon." he groaned – and seeing the skeptical frown of his partner, obviously still not following, balled a fist, "There's only one place close by that she could go to! Higanbana, just a bit down the road!"

"Oh!"

"Yeah, oh!"

Neither of them was paying any attention to their surroundings anymore, and as such, missed it as a figure silently approached them from behind. Black, gray and red all over, a bone-like structure on its face, it breathed heavily at the sight of the two and bared its teeth.

"So... we know she's headed there. Why aren't we going there right now? If she's really that weak, we could totally take her on right now! We could..."

"Do I seriously need to spell it out for you? We're not going to Higanbana, we're going right around it and set up the ambush for when she continues her journey tomorrow! You saw what she did to those Grimm, and she already beat us once, we stand no chance in a direct confrontation, even if she is already weakened!"

The figure sneaking up on them narrowed its eyes and moved its armored fingers, each segment clicking silently as it moved into place. A low snarl rolled in the back of its throat as its gaze shifted from one of the men to the other.

"But wouldn't that be unfa..."

"We're bandits. We have no honor but our own."

The shape of their stalker loomed above them at this point, staring right down at the two crouched bandits. It shifted in its stance, lowering its body, leaning even closer, waiting for the right moment.

"Oh, right, I forgot."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"No. Why should _I_ not be surprised to find the two of you here?"

Screaming, startled, the two men whirled around and stared at the female being looming over them with their eyes wide. Both hurried to get some space between them and it, the lanky one clutching his Sai, but neither of them dared to make a move beyond that.

Slowly, the crouched being rose to its full height again – not that it was standing particularly tall, just slightly over 170 centimeters, but it had an absolutely terrifying and intimidating aura to it. Dressed from the waist down in a garb of black, gray and red – actually a kimono it quite obviously didn't bother to wear over its shoulders – and plain Sarashi that were stained with dirt and coagulated blood, the woman exposed her prominent abdominal muscles and arms to the sun – the reason she was so tan to begin with.

A belt held her garb in place, on which several things dangled on chains, among them a large gourd and a red dish, a small box containing a flask and two cups, several small leather pockets, some tools, a kiseru – a long Mistralian smoking pipe – and a large block of silver ore. Several belts of black leather adorned her otherwise bare arms, strapped tighter than it seemed necessary.

She was attractive, few would deny that – if it weren't for her most striking features.

One was the giant black club she was wielding, so big one would think she carved it from the trunk of an old tree, carrying it with one hand despite its weight, leaned against her right shoulder, a short silver chain dangling from it close to the top.

The other feature consisted of the two red segmented shoulder pieces and the red segmented gauntlets she was wearing, over the right of which she had a shackle with a chain on her wrist, as well as the white and red mask on her face, horribly deformed.

Unlike most masks, this one didn't cover the eyes, it went up to the hairline along the nose bridge and then spread a little to cover the center of her forehead. Thus, the unsettling incandescent yellow of its wearer's eyes was revealed, along with the messy ashen hair that cascaded down to her lower back. Above her eyes, above her actual eyebrows, the mask had two curved black lines that resembled a second more stylized set, remains of what the mask had once been before it had been customized.

Two golden horns protruded from the temples of the mask, curving upward – and then, there was that haunting smile that the mask had its lips curled up into, sharp teeth as golden as its horns, four large ones reminding somewhat of a Beringel standing out. The actual mouth of its wearer was barely visible through the gaps of the fangs, but it sufficed to tell what the emotions of the woman were.

Right now, lips pressed together in a thin line, both of the bandits knew they were in trouble.

"B-b-b-boss!" stammered the lanky guy as he finally recovered from the shock, his whole body shaking in fear. He quickly put his Sai away and bowed down to show his respect, something that his less intelligent partner quickly repeated. At least _that_ he understood.

"You have five seconds to explain why you are here and not performing the task that I gave you. Were my instructions unclear in any way?"

"N-n-no, of course not! We were just..."

The heavy club hit the ground to his feet, the chain on it rattling ominously as it acted almost like a whip and whirled up the dust in between the two men, and both dove away from it in fear. In fear of a woman younger than both of them. Just came to show that age meant nothing. Not in their way of life.

"Then what are you two doing in Shion. I don't think that he's hiding here."

"Actually, we already found him, he was in Hatoba. Y'know, the port town just to the..." the muscular guy fell silent when his boss narrowed her eyes at him questioningly, "We had him. Tavern. He was ready to give us the loot, but..."

He trailed off when his boss' expression darkened notably, turning to his lanky partner for help, considering that he was better with words. Following his gaze, their boss turned to the other bandit as well, who flinched as the glare came to rest on him, but took a deep breath.

"Hear us out, please, before you do anything drastic. You're not going to believe this, boss..."

To their surprise, the woman pulled her club back up with both hands and rested it against her shoulder again. A deep chuckle escaped her, almost menacing, and the two men exchanged a confused glance at this weird reaction. Even stranger seemed to be the thing that their boss did next, raising her free hand and presenting it to them, holding something small that she smiled at.

"Oh, will I...?" she asked no one in particular.

In between her thumb and index finger, she held a spent red shotgun shell.

* * *

A small bell chimed over her head as she pushed the door to the tavern open and entered, leaving the cold breeze behind that had set in as night began to fall. At least this village – Higanbana, as it was apparently called – wasn't some goddamn godforsaken ruin.

She paid little attention to the surroundings as she walked in, instead studying the map of Mistral that she had just purchased from one of the village's shops. Having stocked up on supplies, really all that was left now was to find a place to retire for the night, and to grab some dinner. Preferably without getting into a fight this time.

Choosing one of the empty tables by the door, she placed the map down on it and slipped into the seat in front of it – not the most comfortable, it were plain wooden stairs, but at least it was a seat, and the inside of the building was warm. Better than spending the night outside, sitting on a log by a campfire. Had some pretty great atmosphere, too, a small Mistralian paper lantern resting in the middle of the table. Right up Qrow's alley, probably – comfy, visited by a lot of people – more importantly, women – and you were served alcohol.

Speaking of service, she had been barely there for five minutes when a young woman approached and smiled at her, a waitress guessing from the small tray she was carrying and the apron around her waist. And though she had had a shitty day, Yang reciprocated the smile and leaned onto her prosthetic arm, facing her.

"New around here, huh?" inquired the waitress and beckoned towards the map that Yang's fake arm was resting on, "Huntress? You look the deal."

"Something like that." offered the blonde in return – wincing at how harsh that came out and just how much this was a repeat of the day prior, "Sorry, didn't mean for that to come out like that. Had a rough day."

"Don't we all?" hummed the woman in amusement, stepping slightly to the side to allow Yang to see a group of rather rowdy men partying by the bar, one of them swinging his mug of beer so hard that he occasionally spilled some of its contents.

For a short moment, Yang watched them, unable to believe how little care they seemed to have in the world – only a few months ago, she had been like that. Always on the move from one party to another, bending the rules however she needed them, and just living her life to the fullest. The things she had worried about the most were her appearance and who to hang out with.

Now, she was traveling alone, marred. Reality had caught up to her. And dare she say, she had grown up quite a bit with it.

"So..." began the waitress and pulled her out of her reverie, pulling a pen that the brawler had mistaken as as one of the woman's hairpins from behind her head and lifting her tray – a small note-book she had kept pinned to it with her thumb – up, "What can I get you?"

"Dinner would be nice, I suppose. I don't know much about the Mistralian cuisine, though, get me whatever you have. And something to drink."

"One whatever-you-have and a drink, got it." giggled the Mistralian woman, not even bothering to write the rather simple order down, "Don't worry, I'll get you something nice. Something I need to bear in mind when grabbing you dinner? Allergies? Vegetarian?"

"No, it's fine."

"Good, I'll be right back!"

Offering her an appreciative nod, the blonde pulled out some Lien and sled them towards the waitress, which accepted them with a smile and retreated for the moment. Heaving a sigh once she was alone again, she sent a last glance towards the guys at the bar, before focusing back on her map.

She hadn't made it anywhere near as far as she had meant to due to the fiasco at Shion, effectively prolonging her journey by an additional day. While she had taken this into account even before she had started, she still didn't like it. Her first day could've gone better by far.

At least she had reached Higanbana, one of the few settlements along the route. This was where it split into two possible options for her, though – after heading north-east for a bit, she could either take the longer but safer route, leading through a few settlements of varying size, which meant she had a roof over her head and a warm bed every night, or she could take the shorter and undeniably faster route, even though that meant she had to spend two nights setting up camp in the wilderness somewhere. Not only would it be less comfortable, it would be more dangerous, too.

If she were to use the shorter route, she could easily make up for the day she had lost, but there were only two villages along the way before the capital – Kuroyuri and Oniyuri, both closer to the capital. So close, especially to another, in fact, that staying in both would be a waste of time – if she made it to Kuroyuri and stayed there for the night, she could reach the capital from there in just a bit over a day. And if things went awry for whatever reason, she could still make a small detour and stay in Kuchinashi, just to the south of the city of Mistral.

Growling to herself, she began to gnaw on her lower lip, mechanical finger tracing the shorter route. Part of her really wanted to take that one and join the others in Haven as fast as possible, but after seeing what had happened to Shion and the experience with the Beringel and the Nevermore, and due to the fact that she couldn't rely on her semblance and aura like she used to in the past, she was leaning more towards playing it safe.

Both routes had their pros and cons, and neither was clearly better than the other one – was it going to come down to a whim in the end? A coin throw?

"Here you go."

She jumped, startled yet again by the sudden reappearance of the waitress, but that changed quickly when a plate of rather delicious looking food was placed in front of her, along with a glass of some beverage she supposed was something Mistralian that she had never seen before.

"Thanks." she hummed, reaching for the plate and the glass and putting them on top of her map. Didn't bother her, she didn't need it that bad, and if she was careful enough – which, considering she wasn't a messy eater, wasn't going to be hard – she wouldn't even leave stains on it.

"Will that be all?"

"Yeah, I guess that..." she began, then hesitated as she remembered something, turning to call after the waitress that had already turned to leave, "Actually, there is something."

The woman rose an eyebrow to her, waiting for her to elaborate, but seeing the blonde just wave her hand towards the empty chair on the other side of the table, blinked. A quick glance towards the bar confirmed that no one needed her at the moment, the group of guys had just gotten a new round of beer and it would take them a moment to empty it, and yet she hesitated slightly before actually slipping into the seat across from the blonde.

"I need some intel. Just a few harmless questions, really, I'm not going to lay waste to the establishment, I'm not gonna set it on fire, beat any henchmen or bodyguard-women and I won't make anyone call me 'sir' by..." Seeing the incredulous stare of the waitress, she trailed off and chuckled nervously, "You know what, I'm just gonna ask what I need to know."

A few seconds passed before the Mistralian woman began to nod rather slowly, something Yang would've laughed at if not for having caused this exact reaction by sheer accident. That of the waitress, not of Junior. Not that he'd believe her if she told him she was sorry.

"I'm looking for a group of young huntsmen-in-training, probably headed for the capital. Were most likely led by a girl younger than the rest, short hair, carries a mechanical scythe way too large for her. Is there a chance you've seen them?"

"Actually... Yeah." The answer of the waitress surprised the brawler – she had known that Qrow had been in the port town, but that wasn't where Ruby and the others had started, their ship had taken them way to the west of that. Of course, she had figured that their routes would eventually overlap, but this soon? "She was here with three others, a blonde boy, a quiet one, and a girl too energetic for her own good. Wasn't too long ago, but I can't tell you really how many days it's been. A week, perhaps? Maybe two?"

"That's already more than I was hoping for." admitted Yang quietly, which the waitress accepted with a nod.

"They ate dinner here and then rented rooms in the inn across the street. Like this inn, it belongs to my family." continued the woman, then seemed to grow more thoughtful, "Quite ambitious for their age, especially the cute girl that handled most of the talking. Something you don't see often around here, that's why I got them memorized so well."

That did sound like Ruby alright, she left that kind of impression on people. The 'cute girl prodigy with the creepy scythe'. Well, at least she defined her own type of category and didn't just fall into one like others did. Certainly not something that she could say about many people, well aware that she herself could be categorized as a few things. Few of which she actually considered bad, of course.

"Well, them and this particularly good-looking man that traveled with them."

With an audible groan, Yang's forehead met her palm. Dammit Qrow, was there one tavern he wasn't known in? Just one establishment selling alcohol he hadn't visited already?

"I must admit, usually I'm not into men that much older than me, but he had a certain charm about him, and he was _quite_ handsome." purred the waitress, ignoring her patron's reaction to the information, and blushed ever so slightly, "Quite easy to remember. As was that scary woman he met with, the one with the bright red eyes..."

Her smile actually fell at that, darkening considerably to the point where Yang – peeking through her fingers – frowned and wondered why she suddenly looked almost... _traumatized_. Could anyone really be that scary that the sheer thought of him or her had you relive the event, just like that? There was no way, was there? With all the things out there – the creatures of Grimm in particular – a mere woman could cause something like this?

"She... Well, she arrived shortly before him. Went upstairs, last table. Told me to take the light with me, said she didn't like it bright, though the candles don't offer that much to begin with. I figured she was a huntress who had had a bad day. Kinda like you said you had, but worse. She was armed to the teeth, at least, but not very talkative, so I just had my own thoughts on her and left her to it. She didn't order anything, not right away, saying she was expecting company and wanted to wait for them."

As if actually experiencing the whole thing again, the Mistralian woman turned her head and glanced up to the upper floor to where the woman she was talking about had sat. With the frown still on her face, Yang followed her gaze up there, kinda curious about this particular contact of Qrow.

She had figured out long ago that her uncle had some rather shady contacts that he got information from – that's how she found Junior in the first place – and that some of them were rather dangerous, but this was the first time she actually heard something about them. Not sure if she wanted to ever meet one in person, at least this woman that the waitress was talking about, but she was aware it was part of being a successful huntsman. You needed contacts like that if you wanted to go anywhere.

Who knew, if she played her cards right, maybe Qrow would one day introduce her to some of them. Combine that with knowing Weiss, having a Faunus as a close friend – that was, if she ever found Blake and they went back to what they had once been – and her own ability to make friends, and she had a bright future in the business. Or, at least, exceptional prerequisites for that.

"I don't know what it was about that woman, but she was just... creepy. The way she showed up out of nowhere, how she chose the table furthest away from anyone, how she didn't like the candle, and how she bought him a drink right _before_ he showed up. Like she knew he would be arriving at that very moment, although it didn't seem like he was expecting to meet her!" The waitress shuddered visibly, but forced a weak smile towards the blonde, "Don't think she liked him much, though, she specifically asked me to get him a drink from the bottom shelf. And she told me not to give it to him until the children had left, she needed to talk to him alone."

"And?" inquired Yang when the waitress didn't continue, the silence as she continued to eat bothering her slightly. Leave it to the chatty one to stop at the most interesting point and disregard it as unimportant.

"Hm?" the waitress seemed confused for a second, but then smiled widely as she caught on, "Oh, but I gave him top shelf instead."

Yang stopped moving entirely, fork with part of the beef on it in her mouth. _That_ wasn't the part she had wanted to know more about. Slowly, her right eyebrow rose, in disbelief rather than curiosity. Especially at how the waitress winked as she shared that bit of information. Great, another one smitten by her uncle. Just how was he doing that?

Slowly, the waitress seemed to catch on that she had misunderstood – her smile was turning awkward, then falling, and a blush found its way onto her cheeks, tinting them a faint rosy red.

"They... uh... Well, they didn't seem to be on terms. As in, neither of them seemed particularly happy to see each other. I couldn't hear what it was about, but they were arguing in hushed voices, and she slammed her hand down on the table. After that, she left. She... left."

The brawler frowned at the weird way the waitress muttered the last part and the sudden thousand-yard stare that set in, her eyes losing focus, but didn't inquire what it was about. In the end, she hadn't meant to ask what Qrow was up to and who he was meeting, it was Ruby's team that she wanted information about. Fortunately, she didn't have to remind the waitress again, she snapped out of her trance on her own and continued.

"Anyway, the others stayed for a night, ate breakfast here and then continued their journey. Towards the capital, if I recall right... The energetic one was shouting it as they left." Of course Nora had done that, that was just like her.

Figuring that was the end of the tale, Yang offered the Mistralian woman an appreciative nod and pulled another few Lien out of her pocket, sliding them towards her. Seeing the confused expression she got in return, Yang smiled.

"For the information." she explained, although that seemed to confuse the waitress even more, "Just consider this a generous tip, if nothing else." That, the waitress seemed to accept, partially because it was apparent that the brawler was insisting on it, reaching for the Lien and sliding them onto her tray as she muttered a quiet 'thank you very much' under her breath.

Seems the old man in the port town wasn't the only one able to catch others off guard rather frequently.

"Also, I'd need a room, but let's wait with that until after I've finished dinner. One thing at a time, right?"

"Uh... yes? Sure."

Chuckling at the reaction of the waitress, Yang put her fork and her knife down and reached for the glass. At least she had the information she'd been looking for now, and she was on the same route as Ruby had been. Way earlier than expected, but that wasn't a bad thing.

Still in thought, she watched the other woman get up and turn to leave to the bar again, Yang took a rather generous sip from her drink. Her throat had been dry ever since escaping from the ruins of Shion, the ash the Nevermore had whirled up and the dust from the roads the cause of it. As such, she didn't even bother with it, she just swallowed the liquid.

Bad choice.

Almost immediately, a tingling sensation set in, a burning in her throat that had her slam the glass down on the table and cough violently. This action had the waitress stop and turn back around, confusion over the blonde's reaction setting in.

"What... is this?" managed the brawler in between coughs, holding her throat with her left hand and clutching the glass so tight with the other that it almost cracked. It was then that she actually glared the way of the glass through teary eyes, spotting the deep amber liquid within, shaking with every cough that escaped her.

Alcohol?!

"You said you wanted a drink and that you had a rough day, I figured you wanted something strong. Was I wrong?" inquired the waitress in confusion, blinking at her, "Well, then you mentioned that man, and this is the same that I gave him, so I thought it was fine..."

Still rasping with every breath, the huntress-in-training glared the way of the glass – her first taste of something stronger than a Strawberry Sunrise. Something way stronger. Was this what her uncle was drinking all the time? Was that why his voice was so husky? How the hell did he even stand that?

It wasn't that it tasted bad per se, she had to admit that, but it definitely wasn't her thing. That, and she wasn't used to it like Qrow was. Probably never would be, he liked them dry, and she rather enjoyed the sweeter drinks. Maybe for the better, though, she didn't mean to go overboard with it like he had done. Then again, he had probably not meant for it to become like that either, at least at the beginning. You didn't choose to be an alcoholic one morning on a sheer whim, it just happened. Sorta.

Staring at the glass for a bit longer, gently shaking it with her prosthetic limb and watching the clear amber liquid inside swirl around in it, she pondered for a moment. Then set it down and sighed.

"No, it's fine, really. Although, could you perhaps get me something else, too? Something non-alcoholic? Have to continue my journey in the morning, and I need to drive."

"Oh, of course, hold on! I'll be right back!"

Sighing again, Yang placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin no her palm. Picking up the glass again, she continued to swing the glass and watch the liquor inside swirl, casting a moving amber shadow on the map below due to a lamp hanging on a chain over her head.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she'd have to decide which route to take, and it would decide when she'd meet up with the others and in what condition.

Would it really come down to a whim, the throw of a coin? That doubt woke another in her, one she hadn't even considered until that very moment – Would they – Ruby, Jaune, Ren, Nora, Qrow – even be still in the capital when she got there? Which route had they taken? There was safety in numbers, and they had Qrow with them, it wasn't out of question that they had taken the shorter route.

Would they still be there, or was it just like with her never-ending quest to find her mother, and more recently Blake, and she was chasing after nothing but echoes?

* * *

Night passed, spent in the probably most comfy and homey inn room she'd ever seen, and morning came around.

A bit later than the day prior, Yang was already on the road again. Having actually been able to get some rest the night prior, her aura had recovered fully and had since been healing her, making it much more endurable to continue with the vibrations of her bike no longer causing them to ache.

It wasn't quite as humid this morning, the fog had already retreated and left slight traces of morning dew on the leaves on either side of the road, sparkling ever so gently whenever the rays of the morning sun hit them. Overall, the day promised to be nice and peaceful – a welcome change after the events in the ruins of Shion the day prior.

Cause although she loved the city, the crowded places full of people, the parties and the lights, deep down, she was still a girl born in the quiet forests of Patch, the next town almost half an hour away from home. Had played in the forest with Ruby when they were younger, sat on the roof of their house at night and watched the stars, been on long walks with Summer and her dad. Even the storms out there had fascinated her once she had got over her childhood fear of them, the bright flashes that broke through the sky and illuminated the land.

To have this back, even if just momentarily, to be embraced by nature again like this – it calmed her greatly, deep down. Soothed her fears and doubts. If only there wasn't so much to worry about, if only Ruby and Weiss and Blake were with her, she would've enjoyed it so much more.

A deep and long sigh escaped her at the thought, once more becoming aware of how dysfunctional everything was at that moment – her family, her team, her life. It wouldn't be easy to set things right again, but she had promised herself – and her dad, for that matter – that she'd try to the best of her ability. That she wouldn't let it drag her down again.

Her fingers curled tighter around the handlebar and she unknowingly accelerated again, eyes on the road ahead. There was no point in pondering the past. Not right then. Plus, what had Qrow said? Sometimes, bad things just happen.

Gently, she began to gnaw on her lower lip – the point where she had to choose a route would be coming up soon. The point that she'd been dreading. In the past, before all of this had happened, she would've probably just taken the short but dangerous route, not giving a shit about the consequences and thinking she could punch her way through anything.

That wasn't the case anymore, and her arm – or rather, the lack thereof – was a constant reminder of it.

"Timber!"

Yang turned her head as fast as she could as the low voice echoed through the forest to her right. Scanning the rows of trees, unable to believe that anyone was up this early and working already, and this far away from any settlement, she rose both eyebrows.

And couldn't even hope to react as something came flying her way at an enormous speed, something she later, in retrospect, would realize was a giant log hanging on a rope.

Before she knew what had happened, the giant log hit her in the side and tore her off Bumblebee, sending her flying off the road and into the bushes. A strangled grunt escaped her, she didn't have air for more after it had been knocked out of her, as her her body hit the forest floor and bounced off it, narrowly avoiding several trees and their roots along the way.

In the distance, far away from her, she heard it as her bike – now that it was without a driver – crashed, but the nausea and the pain made it hard to focus on that. She hated the thought that something may have happened to it, of course, it made her furious to even think of it, but she had to worry about herself first. In the end, if she was no longer, it didn't matter if the bike was alright, did it?

Movement was hard and painful, and she barely managed more than to move her prosthetic arm – the only thing that wasn't in pain, of course, as it couldn't be, something she found herself glad about for the first time – and touch her side where she'd been hit with the force of a cannonball. Managed to get a glimpse at the clearing she had landed on.

She winced so hard that she lost the ability to breathe again for a second, just falling back onto her front and screaming to herself – she could already feel her aura working on it, but recovery wasn't instantaneous. Hits of such force tended to get through it and do some damage regardless of the state that one's aura was in, though this was the first time she actually ever experienced it herself. She had always possessed a rather strong aura and never had to worry about something like that, but it had been messed up ever since the fall of Beacon, out of balance, and this was the moment it really showed.

She knew she'd have to adjust and learn how to deal with that, just like with how her semblance had changed ever so slightly, but eighteen years couldn't be disregarded in mere months, it was like trying to get rid of a habit you had for that long.

"What the hell, moron, why did you have to yell that?! What if you had accidentally warned her and she'd avoided our trap?!"

She knew that scratchy voice. That lanky bandit she had met in the tavern of the harbor town, that was him. And that left little doubt as to who he was talking to as well. So they had ambushed her like that. Figured.

The bushes ahead of her rustled, announcing the arrival of the two bandits.

"But she didn't."

"Lucky for you, she didn't!"

In a moment, they'd be thinking twice if they were lucky or not, Yang swore that to herself as she felt her semblance kicking in and giving her the second wind she needed.

"You two again...!" Hammering a fist down on the ground and forcing the nausea aside, Yang pushed herself up onto all fours and turned her head to glare the way of the two bandits she had met on the first night of her journey. "I should've known I didn't see the last of you clowns..."

While the muscular bandit just seemed confused, standing in front of the bushes that led back to the road and scratching his neck, the lanky one frowned her way, somewhat impressed that she was getting up after that hit.

Oh, he had no idea, unaware that the hit with the log had just activated he semblance in such ferocity that Yang herself was feeling the heat ever so slightly. Felt almost like when Torchwick had hit her with that Paladin, roughly one year prior to that day – but to Torchwick's credit, he didn't have to resort to a cheap trick to do so.

And lucky for Torchwick, she hadn't gotten anywhere near as mad as she was _right then_.

Roaring, she got up onto her feet and shook her arms, new energy spreading through her and numbing the pain she actually was in. Turning up the heat – quite literally, actually – she let out a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at her two attackers that now seemed to regret their action a bit. She would make sure that they regretted it.

Once again, the air in front of her mouth was burning alongside the deep crimson of her eyes.

"You got me good there, I have to admit that. Should've been more cautious, really should have! Was prepared for Grimm attacking or someone showing up to block my path, but I didn't anticipate a trap like that. Or to see you guys again, looking for revenge, for that matter." she roared towards them, activated Ember Celica and watched as they flinched ever so slightly, "It won't happen again, I promise. I'll make sure of that."

Both of them actually took a step back at the threat, apparently not so eager to experience the world of pain she was promising to throw them in – and yet, as they shared a short glance that spoke volumes of how wary they were about this, and then glanced back at something that Yang couldn't see, both pulled their respective weapon.

With a bit of amusement, she observed that the lanky bandit only had one Sai this time, the other one remaining on his lower back. For a good reason, considering she had bent the thing out of shape and it wasn't more than a big pointy stick of metal.

Probably still more of a threat than the regular knife his buddy was holding – they taught you how to disarm an enemy with a knife as early as in Signal. He couldn't be serious that this was his weapon.

He couldn't be, which was why Yang felt that she had to be extra cautious and keep an eye on him, just in case that he did pull another weapon – his actual weapon – on her. All that muscle, and he was wielding a knife? Unlikely.

"So, you want me to introduce your jaws to the floor again. I can do that, no problem." she chuckled, covering up the fact that she wasn't feeling as confident as she tried to make them believe – even with the second wind provided by her semblance, her side still hurt like hell. Unless they actually went for it, though, it wouldn't become any problem – and she doubted they were that perceptive or smart. They hadn't shown to be so far.

That they hadn't learned anything from their first encounter with her was proven when they both rushed towards her at the same time – probably thought they were safer in numbers. Still, they lacked the ability to work together and attack at the same time, something that had made the Malachite Twins so dangerous, and when they drew close, the lanky one slowed down ever so slightly to let his partner land the first hit.

A simple step back allowed Yang to avoid the awkward swing of the muscular guy's knife, and seeing him wide open after the slash, moved forward again and slammed her mechanical palm into his chest, sending him flying across the clearing.

Within the range of the other bandit, she had to twist her body out of the way of his Sai, but used the chance to sweep his legs, and when he was falling forward, twirled on the spot and kicked him in the chest, leaving him to follow his buddy to fly right back to where they had started at the other end of the clearing.

Of course, it was the shorter bandit that hadn't learned anything from that and got back up to attack again, this time leaving his knife behind to come at her with his fists raised – stupid of him, thinking he could beat her in her own territory.

There was no effort involved in blocking his punch with her prosthesis, and the same applied to catching his other fist and twisting it in such a way that he let out a strangled gasp – right before she grabbed him by the forehead and delivered on her threat, slamming his jaw down into the dirt. After all, she was a woman of her word.

She even helped him retreat, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him towards his lanky partner, so that the two of them could lick their wounds and make a run for it with their tail between their legs.

It was beyond her what had made them think they could beat her after she had taken care of them during her first night in Mistral, what they thought had changed, but it made her rather angry. Especially because she still had no idea in what state Bumblebee was in, and that could affect the rest of her journey greatly.

Silently, she waited for the two to get back up. Sure, she could've just abandoned the fight and went on her merry way, but who was to say they wouldn't just follow her again? She had to teach them a lesson, once and for all, and then she could leave.

At least, that had been the plan, but once the two were back on their feet, they actually made no attempt to attack her again, the hesitation clear in their eyes. Something was up, Yang could tell, they weren't doing this on their own accord, not anymore. Maybe in the beginning, but they did know that they stood no chance against her, after all. So why would they still try a direct confrontation like this? They obviously weren't masochistic or anything of the like.

She got her answer sooner than she thought, and in retrospect, in a way that she didn't like at all. The two bandits were still standing at the edge of the clearing and just watching her rather warily when Yang finally learned at just what the two had looked at earlier, before attacking her for the first time. Or rather, at who.

Behind them, the bushes shook and parted to reveal a third person, and the sight of this one had Yang actually flinch, and the other two turn to the new arrival in shock.

The person who had entered the clearing was a young woman – Yang's height, couldn't be much older than her guessing from her rather young appearance – clad in black, red and gray. Wearing segmented pieces of armor in the same shade as that of the two bandits, a deformed mask and wielding a giant club in just one hand, there was little doubt as to what faction she belonged to.

In the back of her mind, Yang heard the young Faunus' warning on repeat. The warning about the boss of the two she had beat up, a 'scary woman, real powerful, carrying a big club'. Somehow, the description had been absolutely accurate despite the little detail, Yang couldn't deny it. It was on point.

"B-boss?!" gasped the lanky one as the young woman stepped past them and placed herself right in between them and the blonde brawler on the other side of the clearing. Remained silent as she shifted in her stance ever so slightly, shifting her weight until even Yang began to doubt that she could break her poise.

In stark contrast to the two other bandits, this woman knew what she was doing. There was actually something intimidating about her and how she hadn't said anything yet and remained calm, waiting, her steel-gray eyes just focused on the brawler, lips curled up into a weak smile behind the golden teeth of the mask obscuring most of her face.

That mask, it had Yang snarl to herself.

She knew that mask, knew what it resembled – once upon a time more than it did right then, before the customization had removed parts of it to reveal the owner's eyes. Her father had one such mask – a complete one – in his study along with other ones, saying that they were souvenirs back from when his family had lived in Mistral, passed down for a few generations. Apparently, they were traditional masks used in plays.

This particular mask was the face of a creature from Mistralian mythology, a creature said to possess enormous strength and a hide as hard as rock. It lived high on the mountains and in the depths of caves beneath such, was said to consume copious quantities of alcohol to the point where it was considered more dangerous sober than drunk, and outlived several generations with its lifespan of several hundreds to thousands of years.

The mask represented the face of an Oni, and Yang would get to know this woman as such.

As 'the Oni' finally moved ever so slightly, rolling her head and moving her fingers of the hand holding the club, the blonde brawler watched the other woman's muscles shift underneath her skin. Especially distracting was the movement of the muscles in her right arm, moving in such a way that it looked like the tattoo that the woman had there – the tattoo of several black chains curled around her limb – was moving on its own.

Finally, using her free hand to push her long hair – messy, an ashen shade of black – back over her shoulder, the Oni rose an eyebrow at the young huntress-in-training, a mocking smile on the lips that were visible through the gaps in her mask's teeth. She was daring Yang to make the first move, that much was clear, but the blonde wouldn't fall for it again. If she did, all the training with her father would've been for nothing.

"So what, you're the one behind those two? Not exactly the best choice you've made in henchmen, let me tell you that."

While the Oni seemed to ignore it, the two bandits behind her obviously took offense at it and flipped her off, not brave enough to step forward and possibly get in their boss' way. Yang let out a chuckle and grinned at them, just momentarily shifting her focus away from the bandit boss.

Without as much as a warning, the Oni suddenly jumped forward and swung her club down while still in midair. And although she landed far away from the brawler, club hammering down on the ground nowhere near her, the chain on the weapon came down with enormous force and just barely missed Yang, the blonde avoiding it with an awkward jump to the side.

Catching herself in a somersault, Yang glanced back towards where the chain had hit, eyes going wide as she saw the large dent in the ground where the club had impacted, a smaller trench the mark that the chain had left.

Gone was the amusement she had felt only seconds ago, realization of just how dangerous of a foe she was dealing with setting in – one with an enormous physical strength, not quite unlike her own, not afraid of exploiting her enemy's inattention. An opportunist.

Both hands curling to fists, she glared back towards the woman with the club, Ember Celica's clip starting to rotate on her command. With a flare set as the next shot, she pushed herself off the ground and charged towards the Oni, calling on the energy still stored inside of her semblance.

Still smiling ominously, the ashen-haired woman placed her other hand on her club as well and swung the giant weapon horizontally as Yang got into range of the chain on it – and Yang jumped it, both the chain as well as the club, pulling her feet in as far as she could.

Confidence returning, the brawler landed on the forest floor and dug her feet into it, sliding the last meter towards her enemy, prosthetic fist pulled back for the next strike, just waiting for that stupid masked face to reappear once the Oni had made her full turn.

It did, but it wasn't Yang that landed the hit – the Oni, having exploited the momentum generated by the club, drove the elbow of her right arm back and hammered it into the blonde's face, not only intercepting the attack, but also sending her into a stumble that left her wide open for when the club came back around with a force that rivaled that of the log that had knocked the brawler off her bike.

Torn off the ground and flung across the clearing, the blonde let out a curse and a gasp as she hit the forest floor, mud and moss whirled up along with her. Still, she managed to regain balance and flip her body over so that she landed on her feet in a crouched position, skidding across the moss-covered floor with her prosthesis digging into the ground.

A glare setting in, she rose her gaze and narrowed her eyes at her opponent – the Oni was following her this time, running with the club leaned onto her shoulder, and finally exposing a weakness to the blonde – because of the weight of her equipment and weapon, the Mistralian powerhouse was rather slow, moving rather predictable even at full speed.

Aware that she could use this to her advantage – although not the fastest herself, she could at least outmaneuver her – Yang hurried to get back onto her feet and pulled her arms up, swung her fist and sent a flare at the other woman, then moved them in front of her to defend herself as she saw that the flare was deflected off to the side. More or less just in time, as the Oni – emerging from the cloud of smoke, fire, dirt and moss that the explosion of the flare had created – brought her club down again once in range, the chain coming at the brawler like a whip.

This time, though, she was prepared for it, moved her body out of the way but extended her prosthetic arm – and caught the chain between her faux fingers, twisting her hand to curl it around it. Genuine shock spread across the Oni's face and a smirk formed on Yang's lips in response – until the Mistralian woman yanked on her club and they swapped expressions.

Yang gasped as she suddenly was falling towards the Oni, but quickly caught herself and dug her feet into the muddy ground, leaning against the pull with success and attempting to reverse the move on the other woman, using both hands to pull. While she didn't manage to pull the Oni, she at least didn't get pulled in further – they were evenly matched in their physical strength, it seemed, something that at least the brawler didn't like at all.

This was the first person she had ever fought that was equal to her in that regard.

Baring her teeth, the blonde met the stare of her opponent – and the Oni let go of her club. Gasping, Yang attempted to regain her balance and fall back into a more defensive stance, but before she had the chance, the bandit boss had crossed enough distance to pick her club back up and hold it in front of her like a battering ram.

All Yang managed to do was shift as much aura as possible to her front, then the giant club dug into her stomach and lifted her off her feet, pulling her up into the air – and then, she was falling, landing on her back on the cold hard forest floor.

Weight dropped down onto her stomach and she hissed in pain, especially when a knee dug into her wounded side and all but paralyzed her, but it was silenced by a forearm being placed against her throat and pinning her to the floor.

As she finally managed to open her eyes again, she was staring into the bright steel-gray of the Oni's eyes, the masked face hovering just slightly above her own. Snarling, Yang attempted to fight it, swung Ember Celica at the woman atop her – and the knee dug deeper into her side, making her cry out in pain, halting her attack.

"You're too predictable, Xiao Long."

Surprised that the bandit knew her name, Yang let her guard down and rose her head – and was promptly slammed back down onto the ground rather painfully, becoming aware of how worn down her aura was from the rather heavy hits she had endured.

"Who... are you?!" she choked out, but the only response she got immediately was that the bandit boss atop her applied even more pressure to her throat, breathing becoming harder and harder the more she struggled. "What do you... want from me?!"

Steps coming closer made her aware that the other two bandits were approaching them, but their boss seemed to ignore that, just focused on her victim. And Yang knew it wasn't about beating these two up on her first day, not anymore, there was something else involved, another reason why they wanted her. Behind the golden curved teeth of her mask, the woman's smile grew, mysterious and ominous, unsettling the brawler.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it – you don't need to know what we need you for, not right now." murmured the Oni quietly, then leaned even closer, so far in that it made Yang uncomfortable, one of the golden teeth of the other woman's mask brushing along her ear, "Trust me, you're gonna love this as much as I do. Sooner or later, you will."

The Oni pulled back, smile almost unnaturally wide behind her mask, and actually removed her arm from Yang's throat. In shock, the blonde watched as the eyes of the woman atop her suddenly began to change color, steel-gray – as if suddenly ablaze, incinerating before Yang's very eyes – turning a bright and unsettling shade of yellow.

Images flashed in front of her inner eye, memories of the breach, the fight with Torchwick's right-hand woman – the only person that Yang knew to be able to change the color of her eyes. But that couldn't be her, Torchwick's lunatic partner – even if able to cast her still illusions – couldn't change her size and was mute, and the change in color of her eyes was instantaneous and only happened if she blinked, whereas the eyes of the woman atop her seemed to change gradually.

This had nothing to do with the woman that Torchwick had called Neo.

But then who was this woman, this bandit boss with her Oni mask, and how did she know her name? What did she want with her?

The Oni glanced towards her two henchmen, still making sure that Yang wouldn't try anything stupid by digging her knee further into the brawler's side until she actually elicited a scream from her. With her gaze and a nod towards the road nearby alone, she gave instructions to the two, and as they turned to leave, smiled back down at Yang and the murderous intent on the brawler's face, utterly amused as she saw that the brawler's eyes were no longer a clear amethyst.

"You fought well, Xiao Long, but you're too predictable. People who stick to the rules and to honor always are. But in time, you'll learn to work like we do, to think like we do. But, until then..." The Oni's knee dug into Yang's side again, hard, and she clawed at the ground as she screamed, but the other woman just chuckled – and rose both of her hands over her head. "Goodnight."

The last thing that Yang saw was how the Oni swung her club down on her.

And then, only darkness.


End file.
